Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic
by Wihstrum
Summary: The Powers that Be always have had big plans for our Gryffindor. Now, six others will get caught up in Harry’s fate and destiny -in the life of the only one who can conquer the Dark Lord. And one of those six is Draco Malfoy. Slash!
1. Summer at Privet Drive

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ****Wihstrum**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Harry Potter characters. But I do own my very own two OC's: Finbar and Alex. (will kill if you steal them)

**Warning:** Contains slash (boy/boy relationship) Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy.  
OotP-spoilers!

**Year Setting:** Sixth Year

**Chapter One: Summer on ****Privet Drive**

_July 17. _

The first splintering crack of lightning overhead, a silver flash that split the darkening heavens in two. Umbrellas or newspapers were used as a shield against the wet slap of the first fat drops falling from the sky, relieving the heat and sticky presences from the air. People made haste to seek shelter as the storm broke, sending one last sheer electric tension through the air.

Rain hit Little Whinging like a sweeping curtain, yet one lone silhouette sitting on a swing could be made out through the thick veil of quickly chilling torrent. The droplets leaked into his once brilliant green eyes, now dull and bitter, hidden behind round spectacles. His worn-down and frayed t-shirt clung to his rawboned body and his shoulders were hunched as he stared moodily towards the ground. The boy's hair didn't take well to being wet obviously as it stood almost rebelliously against the pounding water.

Harry Potter had never enjoyed his summers at the Dursleys to say at least, but this one, the summer of his sixteenth birthday, proved to be the hardest one yet.

Thunder rolled above him, shivering through the humid air, and all Harry could hope for was that the cascading rain would be able to wash away the violating mantra droning on and on in his head. His scar continued prickling tauntingly, as if to spite Harry for failing so many people. So many people had died because of him; first of all his parents, then Cedric and now Sirius. The screams from his mother echoed through his head, even the pounding rain couldn't stop it. Nor could it stop the shivers running down his spine as he thought about holding Cedric's limp body when he reached out for the portkey. And all the while he saw Sirius's body curving in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil.

Tears of bitter shame and fury prickled at the corners of his eyes, but he would not give himself the relief of crying. He did not deserve it. It was his fault after all…

_And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..._

His grip around the chain tightened, knuckles whitening as they were drained of blood. All his fault. Weakly he stood, frowning as his baggy jeans wrung uncomfortably around his thighs. He jumped abruptly backwards and his hand flew to the place he'd stuffed his wand in his waistband as he could make out the contours of a man standing before him.

His hand trembled as he pointed his wand at the stranger. "Who are you?" he demanded, voice deceivingly flat even though his heart skipped some beats, thudding unevenly against his ribcage.

Hands were raised in surrender as the man inched in on him. Harry squinted against the rain as his senses tingled in recognition. "Remus?"

"Hi Harry." His former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher greeted him with a hint of sadness in his gentle voice. His cheeks were hollow and deep dark circles were clearly visible around his eyes. He seemed to radiate weariness, as if the weather seemed to reflect his mood. He took a step forward…

The grip on his wand tightened "In what does a Bogart turn when I face one?" Harry asked, eying him warily.

"A dementor…" he replied simply "You hear your mother as she defended you…"

"Who is Wormtail?"

A throaty hiss escaped him "A vile, traitorous lowlife, named Peter Pettigrew; an illegal animagus his form is that of a rat. Very suiting." He spat the words out disgusted.

The wand was lowered, and the Gryffindor watched him from over his glasses. "Professor Lupin? What are you doing here?" he asked in confusion.

"I…" Remus started, but didn't get to finish the sentence as the words died on his lips. Trembling, his eyes took in the heart-chilling sight of the boy-who-lived, damp fabric of his summer T-shirt tightly plastered against his body, lining the ribs that stuck out alarmingly. He closed his eyes in shame. _James, Lilly, I am so sorry for letting it come so far…_

"Professor?"

Remus was snapped out of his initial shock by Harry's worried tone. Giving him an assuring smile he said, "I wanted to…to…", but stuttered helplessly. All of a sudden Harry found himself being wrapped in a warm embrace and Remus' voice choking in his hair "I'm so sorry Harry."

It took him a while to come over the awkwardness of being held so comfortingly by his former-teacher, but eventually he found his arms coming up automatically, returning the hug in earnest. They just stood there, as the world almost went blank when they submitted to the grueling sorrow in their heart, clinging to each other, both so different yet understanding each other like in one else could have.

_July 22._

"We cannot leave him there." Remus insisted as he held his mug tightly; he'd never been one to speak for an audience, especially when that audience consisted of Minerva, Alastor, Kingsley, Severus, Emmeline, the Weasley's and Dumbledore himself. "It's amazing he still hasn't collapsed… albeit from underweight or the weight of the problems he's carrying on his shoulders."

Very light and bright blue eyes regarded him from over half-moon spectacles and the werewolf couldn't help but to shift uncomfortably, knowing that Dumbledore was very keen on having Harry safe at his relatives'.

Remus pushed on, "I'm not saying we should get him out of there, but we could at least try to help him carry his burdens. It shouldn't be his to carry in the first place." A small breath escaped his lips as he saw Minerva nodding in agreement. He'd made a point.

Silence settled in the kitchen on 12 Grimmauld Place as all contemplated about how they could help the-boy-who-lived.

"Harry is barely 16 years old Albus… the person closest to a father-figure was taken away from him and The Dark Lord is only waiting for the right time to strike… we have to do something." Molly put in with fierce motherly protectiveness.

Dumbledore smiled sadly "I've tried so hard to let him grow up as a normal person, and in the end it seemed to be the worst I could do… but even less I want him to get hurt. He's been through so much pain already…"

"He is going through deep pain right now." Remus said and he tried hard to keep his voice clean of all impatient determination. "Lilly, James and Sirius turn in their graves as we leave him to sort this out on his own." His voice shook as he added, with more force than he could help "He's very strong, not to mention stubborn, but not invincible."

Light blue eyes were turned down to gaze into his mug as the words stung deeply into Albus' heart "I know…" he answered, the decision very hard for him "We should get him out of there…"

Minerva pouted her lips sourly "He won't take well on being brought _here_ again."

A murmur rang through the kitchen as this problem was recognized. All but Molly Weasley whose face showed utter compassion as she offered: "Maybe…"

_July 31._

"Happy Birthday to me." Harry murmured as he leaned through his window after yet another failed attempt at sleep. He watched Hedwig soaring after a moth she tried to catch, her snow-white feathers now silver in the moonlight. With a click her beak closed around the unfortunate insect and she swooped down on his shoulder, and hooted as if she wanted to be complimented for her perfect catch. Her sharp claws dug into his already so fragile and abused skin, but he couldn't care. Instead he rested his head, in a strange need to lift his loneliness, against her smooth yet soft feathers and Hedwig cooed in response and nipped his ear.

"Hey girl…" he said softly and he scratched her on the head carefully "Think it's worth trying to sleep once more?"

Hedwig blinked and tilted her head. "Hoo…"

"Yeah, couldn't have said it better myself." He smiled as he closed the window.

But he'd barely turned around or there was a sharp peck against his glass causing Hedwig to fly off with another indignant hoot. Warily and very slowly he walked back to the window, peeking outside. Nobody. Frowning he pushed it open again and leaned out, right hand on his hip, feeling his wand still stuffed in his waistband. Just as he was about to close the window again a little pebble hit him square on the forehead.

"Hey!" he yelped and rubbed his forehead, while he drew out his wand with his other hand.

"Psst! Over here, Harry!"

Bewildered Harry's head jerked to the direction the voice had came form, and there alright, was Bill Weasley standing in the shadow of a tree; complete with black trench coat and dragon hide boots.

"B-Bill?" He blurted, completely confused.

"The one and only!" The redhead answered with an amused smile "I'm here to kidnap you, pack your trunk and get down here!" he seemed agitated causing Harry to frown even more.

"Wooowoow… wait a second, what's going on?" he demanded, wanting to know why exactly Bill Weasley was throwing rocks at him at midnight, ordering him to pack his stuff and leave.

"Seems like they've finally come to their senses, and they decided to get you out of here… That and the fact that we've got lots of trouble.

A hollow feeling poured into his stomach and his grip on the windowsill tightened, causing the stone to rub sharply against the palm of his hands "What's wrong?"

"Don't worry just yet Harry; we'll explain when we get home."

With an aggravated sigh Harry left his position from the window and started throwing his stuff into his trunk randomly, not that it was much to begin with. 10 minutes later he was already packed, Hedwig's cage perched on top of his trunk. Very, very quietly he tiptoed down through the house, Vernon's roaring snore on the background, damning every squeak when trying to get down the stairs. At long last he was outside, hurrying his way over to Bill.

"What about the Dursleys? I can't just leave!" He protested as he dropped his trunk to the floor rougher than needed.

"Don't worry, Moody and dad will see to that tomorrow! C'mon now, we need to go!"

His lips were slightly parted as he frowned in disbelief, "What if something happens to them?" Not that he was that fond of his relatives to begin with, but too many people had died and got hurt just because of him. "I can't just –"

But he was cut of mid-sentence as Bill pushed a candy wrapper in his fist before Harry realized it. With a familiar tug behind his navel, Harry's world spun around in a flash.

And he met the ground even rougher. With a groan he opened his eyes and was met by the startling sight of Ron crouching before him, nose a mere inch from his. "You alright there mate? Some rough landing."

Scrambling to sit up more straight, his eyes took in the homey sight of a small kitchen, with a fireplace and a scrubbed wooden table. He was at the Burrow.

"I'm okay… I guess." He answered vaguely as he tried to stand "What's going on?"

Instead of answering Ron's mouth dropped open and Harry had never seen such pained expression on his face, "Harry… what happened to you?" he whispered.

Harry noticed the rest of the Weasley household watching him from over Ron's shoulder. _Wow, I must really look awful… _ He thought inwardly as he saw Molly sniffle and Ginny covering her mouth in shock.

"Sit down Harry." Arthur offered, breaking the leaden silence.

Harry did as told, still itching to fire the questions burning on his lips. Bill appeared with a 'plop' holding Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage, in which the owl was hooting venomously. Gesturing for the cage, the young wizard released her and Hedwig burst out with a loud screech before landing on his shoulder. Stroking her feathers comfortingly Harry demanded: "And now I want to know what's going on."

With a sigh Arthur sat down next of him, pushing a steaming mug of hot cocoa in his hands. "The Order decided to get you out… or rather Remus insisted on it."

A stubborn rebellion bubbled up in Harry's already irritated mood "I can take care of myself fine, thank you very much!"

"Oh Harry…" Ginny breathed, sitting down next to him. His skinny hand was covered with her own.

Harry's eyes narrowed angry "I'm doing fine!" he shot back. He didn't need babysitters, he'd done fine on his own so far, and he could handle this himself.

"Really now?" Ron interfered, his voice cold and trembling. Before he knew, Ron hauled him to his feet and dragged him up the stairs; obviously ignoring Molly's spluttering objections. Surprised Ron seemed so much stronger than he remembered, Harry had no choice but to try and keep up with the tall redhead. With a shove the Gryffindor was pushed into the bathroom and in front of the mirror.

Blinking he looked up at Ron, arching an eyebrow in question.

"Take of your t-shirt." he commanded, breathing through his nose, cheeks flushed red.

Even though it must have been the most unusual thing Ron had ever asked of him, he obliged, and pulled his t-shirt over his head.

Ron growled audibly now, a hand curled around Harry's shoulder "Alright?" he said, jabbing a finger at the mirror "That's anything but alright!"

Staring at his reflection in disbelief Harry could not help but to agree. He was shocked that he hadn't seen it before, even more that the Dursleys hadn't done anything about it. He looked famished, his skin was pulled tightly over his ribs and his jeans had scraped the skin on his hips open. He could encircle his upper arm between his thumb and index finger and his collarbone stood out alarmingly. His eyes seemed to have sunken deeper into his skull and his lips were crooked, cheeks hollow. A shadow of what he used to be.

Ron was visibly trembling now, and it shocked Harry when he realized that it was because he was worried about him. "You are the must stubborn guy I've ever met Harry, but this had gone too far!"

The Seeker swallowed, still shocked himself by being confronted with his reflection. "I…" he said, breath caught in his throat.

"You are going to get yourself together!" Ron burst out "What happened was awful, and you deserved it least of all, but it's happened and nothing can change that! Sirius would never want to see you like this!"

Harry winceed, fighting against the constricting in his chest and desperately trying to hold himself together. He silently accepted his t-shirt back from Ron and pulled it back over his head, catching the pained expression as his friend looked at Harry's ribs rolling under his skin when he raised his arms.

20 minutes later they were sitting back at the kitchen, Harry sipping at his cocoa, eyes cast downward and Ron sitting opposite of him, seemingly embarrassed because of his outburst.

"As Ron seemed to have been clear enough about the main reason why you're here…" Arthur spoke up again, shooting his son a wry look "This is the second."

A newspaper, The Daily Prophet, was dropped on the table in front of his nose. Immediately his eyes were drawn to the big header on the front page:

**_Mass Breakout from Azkaban Prison!_**

_Two nights ago, a massive breakout has occurred from Azkaban Prison. The Death Eaters who fought in the __Battle__ of the Department of Mysteries and previously sentenced Death Eaters have escaped during a mass breakout in the night of the 29th of July. Dementors are no longer under control and have officially joined forces with the Dark Lord, leaving Azkaban Prison unguarded. Following prisoners have escaped: Lestrange Rabastan, Lestrange Rodolphus, Theodore Nott, Rookwood Augustus, Dolohov Antonin, Malfoy Lucius, …_

The article went on but Harry just dropped his face into his hands and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. This could not be happening… Bill patted his back comfortingly and Harry heaved a shivering sigh. "What about the Dursleys? What if they come to look for me there?"

"We'll see to their safety, don't worry…" Arthur answered patiently and then added, in a much different voice "Turn the page Harry…"

Dreading to find out what other bad news it would bring him, Harry turned the page. A sharp pang shot through his stomach and he blinked against the burning sensation in his eyes. The next header said:

**_Sirius Black declared innocent! _**

_After the debacle at the Department of Mysteries, several of the Death Eaters that have been questioned under the influence of Veritaserum have confirmed that Sirius Black was never a Death Eater. Previously charged for the murders of twelve muggles and one Peter Pettigrew, Mr. Black was in fact framed by no one other that Peter Pettigrew himself, who is alive, a Death Eater, an illegal animagus in the form of a rat and responsible for the death on Lilly and James Potter and Cedric Diggory. Upon learning that Pettigrew betrayed the Potters' hide-out to He-who-must-not-be-named; Pettigrew lured Mr. Black into a crowed street, cut of his own finger, blew up the street and all muggles present there, transformed into a rat and escaped through the sewers, thus faking his own death. _

_However, this information has been learned too late, as Mr. Black died in the battle __at the Department of Mysteries. But, as from today, Sirius Black has been cleared of all charges. The date of reading of Mr. Black's Will has yet to be set, as the Black estate will probably be inherited by no one other than Harry Potter, who is, in fact, Mr. Black's Godson. _

His head jerked up at this, his cheeks starting to burn.

As if reading Harry's thoughts, Mr. Weasley handed Harry an envelope. He could not stop his hand from trembling as he accepted the envelope, biting his lower lip hard enough to draw blood when he saw the wax seal in the shape of a dog's paw print. It was addressed to him. Dead, Sirius was dead. His voice was void of all emotion when he spoke "I'm tired… I think I'm going to bed…"

"Okay Harry, you can use Percy's old room, if you like…" Molly said softly, her voice hitching ever so slightly at the mention of her lost son.

Harry simply nodded and stood; his whole posture rigid and emotionless. He bent down stiffly and dragged his trunk unceremoniously after him and up the stairs, feet carrying him automatically to where he wanted to be. Entering Percy's old room, he dropped his trunk in the middle of the room and he even forgot to close the door, but he moved over to the bed and sat down slowly. The envelope was still in his hands and he couldn't do anything but stare at it blankly for the next few minutes. This was so final, if he opened this letter, it would be official. He would never come back.

With a trembling sigh he dug out a little pocket knife and instead of slitting the seal, he opened the top of the envelope. He liked the seal. A thick peace of parchment fell out and Harry picked it up carefully. He swallowed one last time and began to read.

Dear Harry,

If you are reading this letter, it means I've died. I hope I died fighting an honorable cause, rather than I've withered away where I am now. I'm not going to say not to cry for me, because I know I did when James and Lily died. But Harry, please remember; there is a time for mourning, but also a time for moving on. Also, it was not you fault! How did I know? Well, I blamed myself for James and Lily's death… it was what nearly consumed me in Azkaban. Yes, I was innocent, but if I hadn't convinced them into choosing that traitorous rat as their Secret Keeper, they would still be alive. Sometimes you do something with the best intentions, but it turns out all wrong and you couldn't do anything to stop it.

If Remus is still alive and I suspect he is (he's one tough werewolf) I'd like to ask you for a favor. Thank him for me. He's been a wonderful support and even a more wonderful friend and I don't know where I would have been if he hadn't been there. Also, keep an eye out for him, he tends to brood and now I'm not here anymore, I need you to boot his arse back into action for me when he goes sulking.

Also, you are going to be one very wealthy man, Harry, as I leave most of the Black Estate to you. I trust you will use it wisely Harry, as you have been handling your parents' fortune with a great sense of responsibility, too. The house in London I want to be used as the headquarters for the Order until such time as it is no longer needed, which, I hope, is soon (Please do give the rat and the snake-face my regards when you kick their arse). At the reading of my Will, which you have to set the date for, more specific details will be cleared out, but I'm not going to ramble on about it now. One more thing though, the flying motorcycle; it's yours. But Harry, please use it carefully because I don't need your mother in my hair up here.

I feel like I still have to explain myself for what you saw in Snape's pensive… What we did was wrong, but don't judge your father just yet. He was a very good man Harry, and also a brother to me. I don't want to point, but Snivellus was always tormenting happily along with Lucius and his cronies and one day it just clashed horribly when they made a move for one of our fellow muggle-born and lower-year housemates… That's when we started cursing each other randomly in the hallways. Okay, I admit, James and I had a rather trigger-happy attitude to jinxing people, but we never really meant to harm anyone. The memory you saw in the pensive was the worst we ever did and I'm very ashamed of myself you had to see that. Maybe you should ask to see Remus' memories in a pensive instead…

Finally, I also needed to apologize for something else… When I said to you that your father would have taken that risk, it was horribly wrong of me. I guess I was somehow living through you and your friends. And that was wrong of me, sorry. You look so much like James, not to mention you fly as good as him, too, but actually, you are much more like your mother. And that is a very good thing, Harry. Lilly was one of the strongest and most loving people I have ever had the honor to meet. She was one hell of a witch Harry, didn't miss a beat. A shoulder for all to lean on, a leader really… She had this radiating power about her, something I can't explain… And you better know she loved you Harry. We all did and always will and regardless of what you do; we have faith that you will make us proud.

Harry, please live your life to the fullest! It's too short and too precious to be wasted on mourning, I need you to realize this before it's too late. Remember me how I was, not how I am.

Love,

Sirius Black a.k.a. Padfoot.

The first of the tears he'd pressed back so harshly ran over his cheek, the others following after, and this time Harry didn't stop them. He just let it out, hugging himself and hoped Sirius could hear him as he promised he'd do everything within his power to make them proud. He cried one last time and he knew it would be long before he could get over him, but a start was made…

---

A/N: this is an edit, or actually a whole new chapter! Cause the last one sucked.

Thanks to my wonderful beta Keiko-keket for making this chappie typo-free!

See that little purple-ish button? Click the purple-ish button, because you know you want to… yes, you want to review this story! Okay, okay, want me to beg? I'll beg; pleasepleaseplease review? Pleeeease? No flames please but constructive advice please. Thanks!


	2. Entwined Destinies

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ****Wihstrum**

**Chapter two: Entwined Destinies.**

He allowed himself to fall back into the long grass, arms crossed behind his head and eyes staring up absently at the clear blue, trying to discern familiar shapes amongst the white clouds that covered the sky as far as the eye could see. It was a warm, almost humid day, and the atmosphere was a very slow, tired one, hence why the two of them were basking in the late afternoon, doing absolutely nothing.

"Draco..."

He let his head roll to the left so he could see Blaise sitting in the shadow of the giant willow. He found it odd to see the young wizard in something other than Slytherin robes; he was wearing light linen trousers and a currently unbuttoned khaki blouse. He was leaning against the trunk of the tree lazily, twirling a blade of grass between his fingers.

"Hmm?" He hummed as he squinted his eyes against the sunlight.

Blaise was regarding him thoughtfully; eyes slightly hooded "What are you going to do after graduating?"

Staring back up at the sky, Draco contemplated that question himself. Half a year ago he would have found that question ridiculous, but now it really seemed to make sense. So many possibilities…"Don't know… boot Severus from his position as Potions teacher?"

"You, a teacher?" the caramel eyed youth snorted "Oh that's bound to be interesting." He countered, an amused smirk curling his lips as he let his head loll back against the trunk.

He pushed himself up on his elbows, and shot Blaise a defiant glare "Why not?"

"You don't have the patience nor temperment…" he answered simply as he tied a knot in the blade of grass.

He sniggered "If they all have the IQ of either Longbottom or Potter, then I don't."

Both Slytherins grinned at each other as Draco sat up, crossing his legs. The little red lines running over his arms where they'd laid pressed into the grass were itching and he scratched his arm absently "Seriously though… I don't know." He said more thoughtfully, fingering the leather bracelet around his right wrist. "I never knew it would be such a… I don't know… I'm free to do as I please now he's in Azkaban."

Blaise nodded; amber eyes fixed on Draco's face. He put the blade of grass between his lips and chewed on it.

"And it would be a shame if I were to ruin my fair skin with such an ugly Dark Mark."

The other leaned forward, arms resting on his knees. He gave the young wizard a heated glare "That is not amusing."

He raised a lazy pale eyebrow "What do you want me to do then? Weep?"

Blaise let out an annoyed sigh, deciding to ignore the blonde and checked his watch. "I ought to be going now, I promised mum I'd be home for dinner." He stood up, swaying slightly as he did so "I hate flooing." He muttered as an afterthought as both walked through the long grass up to the Malfoy Mansion

Their new friendship came forth out of one simple letter Blaise wrote at the beginning of the summer. Sure, they've both been housemates and roomies for five years, now starting their sixth, but Blaise had been Zabini back then. Now he was Blaise. It was a very formal and simple letter, but it ended up with them meeting each other at Diagon Ally. And to Draco's immense surprise, he'd enjoyed that trip. It was stiff and awkward at first, but now they got along very well and it made Draco question his 'friendship' he had with Crabbe and Goyle and why he stuck around them. He found out he had no other reason other than the fact they'd just grown up with each other. Friendship. It had always been an equivalent of 'weak' to Draco, an empty word for which he bore no interest at all. Maybe he was given a second chance?

As Draco thought about this they entered the big, stately mansion; a strong and cool contrast to the warm greens of the gardens surrounding it. Then he bumped right into Blaise's back as the other had frozen like a deer caught in the headlights of a muggle car. He was about to snap something snarkily as he looked up, but he lost all ability of speech as if he'd been slapped in his face. His heart froze within him as the little talk Blaise and he had five minutes ago was stomped into the ground and buried.

Wiping any emotion that might have shown on his face away, Draco stepped past brown haired Slytherin and held out his hand "Welcome back father."

_August 11._

Harry was lying on his stomach on top of his t-shirt he'd discarded half an hour ago. He still was very skinny, but after a week of being stuffed with Molly's cookies, cakes, pancakes, bacon and whatever else she fixed up for him, he was starting to gain weight again. He sipped his pumpkin juice in front of him and let his mind meander around.

Sirius' letter had made his world shift back into place. The whole night he had been sobbing his sadness into his pillow as he never had before, waking up the next morning feeling calmer than he had ever had. It was strange really; he woke up with renewed determination evident in his eyes. He didn't want to be that bitter and forlorn boy he had been last year, and he actually believed he could reign his sadness in and pick up his life again. But then of course there was a complication, from which Harry carried the proof of around on his forehead; a.k.a. the Prophesy. Dwelling on it was sure to bring Harry's spirits down in record-time, seeing as he had no idea how he was supposed to free the world from Voldemort's terror.

Watching the twins, Ginny and Ron were having a massive water-balloon fight, with the balloons left from his birthday, Harry smiled to himself. The birthday-party they'd held for him had turned out better than expected and even he had enjoyed being surrounded by so many familiar faces. Most members of the Order had been there, his housemates from his year and some others, Oliver Wood had showed up, along with Katie, Angelina and Alicia, Luna had been there and Fleur. Though he'd been bombarded with questions on how his physique came to be, Harry had actually enjoyed himself. Ginny and Ron had been saving up money and they'd given him dragon hide Quiddtich-patches. Hermione had given him a book about advanced DADA-techniques, Neville and Luna had given him a wand holster, the twins had given him the newest and most expensive Weasley's Wizard Wheezes pack, Hagrid had given him a book about dragons and of course the usual rock-hard rock cakes and further more he'd received tons candy and other sweets. It had been the first real birthday-party in his whole life and it would be a memory he'd cherish his whole life. He'd made Colin swear he got copies of the pictures he'd taken, so he could put them in the photo-album Parvati and Padma had given him.

A grin quirked the corners of his mouth upward as George (or maybe Fred, he wasn't sure) ducked the balloon Ron threw at him, hitting Ginny square against the back of her head instead. Within seconds, the Weasley temperament kicked in and Ron found himself sprinting through the backyard in a ditch effort to flee his raging sister.

Yet his amusement was quickly toned down as his scar prickled in response to another one of Voldemort's anger peeks. The dark hearted parasite seemed to be very busy lately and Harry's only alleviation was that he always seemed to be frustrated at something, rather than succeeding in whatever he was plotting.  
Therefore it had also proved to be a relief to the Weasleys that Harry had his 'own' room, in which he'd stayed so far. He still had a lot of trouble sleeping and woke up more than once a night screaming the magic out of him. He tried to clear his head every time, even though he still wasn't adept at Occlumency by a long shot.

There was a screech and Ron rolled through the grass as Ginny had managed to grab one of his legs as she lunged for him. Grass flew through the air as the Weasley siblings tried to overpower one other. Harry couldn't help the warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched the scene with an affectionate smile.

Meanwhile Hermione sat down next to him, wrapping her arms around her legs. His fellow Gryffindor stayed over every so often and Harry was getting very attentive at catching the increasing signs of affection between his best friends. Hermione tilted her head sideways, observing him in a way only she could, tuned to his feelings with caring precision.

"You look different…" she remarked, still regarding him from under brown eyelashes "Better somehow."

Harry smiled enigmatically, answering vaguely "I feel better, too…" frowning slightly as he tried to analyze is own confusing emotions "Calmer somehow."

He was immensely surprised as Hermione tucked a strand of black hair protectively behind his ear "Glad to have you back Harry."

A small grin adorned his lips "Me too, Mione, me too…"

_August 17._

_ He__ excitedly shifted through a dungeon-like corridor, his __boots grinding softly over cracked tiles and his loyal servants scurrying after him. At long last, something went according to plan. He had been jaundiced too many times past few months and finally the perfect solution was put into his hands. The corridor twisted and branched off, myriad passageways leading to gruesome laboratories and stifling storage closets, but he could already feel the hum buzzing through his body as they approached their destination._

_Lucius__ held a door open for him, bowing lowly with unrivaled gracefulness. His imprisonment in Azkaban had left him with dark circles around his eyes, which now held a permanent haunted look. Stepping into a small, __saturated room, a shiver ran up and down his spine in response to the highly concentrated magic oozing from basin at the far end of the chamber. Even though the long, coffin-like case was covered with a thick black cloth, bright blue pulsating light illuminated their surroundings, unnerving the local inhabitants, such as spiders and scrawny rats. _

_A throaty hiss escaped him in his __intoxication, "Are you sure this will work?" _

_The lowly rat dropped to his knees, clutching the hem of his long dark robe as he whimpered, "Yes master, I worked very hard to find a solution master."_

_Red eyes sought to burn a hole through the skull of his lower, "I do hope you realize what will happen if you manage to fail. Again. Pettigrew?"_

_Another whimper "Yes master…" _

_"Right then."__ His pale, spider-ish hand pulled the cloth of._

_His blood rushed through his veins in complete furor, as he took in the contents of the __container. Inside was a whitish substance, pulsing systematically with green and blue light. It was not substantial enough to be water, yet not elusive enough to be light. Drifting in that substance was his ultimate resolve to all his problems. _

_The eyes were still closed; it appeared to be sleeping even though her chest did not rise nor fall. But it was definitely alive. The tanned skin was a harsh contrast to her whirling dome of light around her and the freckles over her nose and cheeks stood out clearly. She looked so small, so innocent, but anybody could have seen the trained muscles in her arms and legs, lithe yet quite athletic. The stark-white hair drifted around her head almost lazily and was hard to make out in the shining liquid._

_Very beautiful and innocent._

_A __smile which had nothing to do with happiness claimed his lips "Wake her and meet me at the churchyard at Little Hangleton. The reverse-ritual will be completed there." _

Harry's ear-splitting scream cut through the Burrow, as he held his forehead trying to calm the scorching sensation that spread through his head. Within minutes the entire Weasley household was in the room, Molly trying to shake the boy-who-lived out of his delirium. Meanwhile, Arthur had already ran down the stairs to the fireplace, calling on Dumbledore's help as he recognized what had happened the last times Harry had been in a similar state. He knew all too well.

Dazedly, Harry stared at the curling and whirling steam bellowing up from his cup of hot cocoa. Hands were lifted up to gingerly massage his temples, trying to soothe the pounding headache. Feeling ridiculously alone and vulnerable, Harry sat there, waiting, in the kitchen at Number 12 Grimmauld place.

It had taken three grown men -Bill, Snape and Remus- to calm the Boy-who-lived down. With combined powers they finally managed to pin him down onto his bed, so Dumbledore could cast a calming charm on the young man. Without further ado, he'd been forced to floo over to Grimmauld place. Once again they'd been compelled to calm him down, as obviously Harry wasn't too buoyant about this either.  
After being target of two calming charms, he had been too drugged to re-tell the whole story, resulting in Albus using his natural Legilimens abilities to see what exactly Harry had beheld in his dream. And then panic had ensued as Dumbledore in turn had shared this with Snape. The Potions master had literally gone unhinged, almost to the point of Apparating over to Little Hangleton to take care of business on his own. If Harry hadn't been so stupefied himself, he would have wondered what in the name of Merlin's beard had been so important about that girl.

So now, trapped in the building of Sirius' birthplace, alone with his uncertainty and pain that came with just being there. It felt like Sirius took away all the warmth from this place when he left. Trying to get to his senses, Harry left his eyes free reign to take in the… rather homey touch Remus had given the place. The werewolf had moved permanently in there after the incident as he had no place else he wished to be.

Knocking back the rest of his –now cold- cocoa, Harry settled his mind on exploring a little. The confusion had evaporated, leaving more space for his explosive chagrin and the only way to get it out of his system seemed to be busying himself.  
He wandered around aimlessly, picking up random objects the Order had gathered there, but not really looking at them, before setting them back down and shuffling around to wherever his feet guided him. Eventually Harry ended up in the upstairs bedroom, with a certain gray Hippogriff. The magnificent creature let out a complaining noise, tilting his head sideward.

"Still trapped in here, are you?" Harry asked Buckbeak, even though he obviously wasn't expecting any verbal reply.

In answer the Hippogriff scraped his front paw over the wooden floor with a softer screech. Orange eyes observed every inhale of air, every heartbeat coming from his human visitor. Another crowish noise left Buckbeak's throat.

"I'll try to get you out as soon as possible." The Gryffindor whispered in response "I promise."

He sank back against the wall, watching Buckbeak lowering himself to the floor with a distinct grace, next to Harry as if he'd sensed the young man might need his support. So Harry just waited, and after a few hours he dozed off, sliding down the wall unconsciously seeking out the softness of the Hippogriff's feathers.

With a snap he shot out of his dreamless slumber, as he heard stumbling and urgent whispering downstairs. They were back!

Harry ran down the stairs, taking two steps at a time, pausing only to slow down at Mrs. Black's portrait. Bursting into the kitchen though, he was rendered numb; supported by Remus was the young woman he'd dreamed off, only she wasn't a subconscious image provided by his teenage hormones. She was real alright and in a rather undressed state too, if you didn't count the cloak wrapped around her shoulders, which obviously wasn't hiding very much.

But things had been definitely rough, as Remus was limping heavily and had a very nasty cut on his forehead, blood pouring down. Dumbledore however didn't have a scratch. And the girl seemed… drunk, or drugged. She swayed on her legs and couldn't control her movements. The werewolf carefully nudged her on one of the chairs around the kitchen table, before collapsing to the floor with a heavy groan.  
Hands were clutching his right leg, hissing as he removed the torn parts of his trousers which were clinging in a deep wound. Immediately wanting to help him, Harry hurried over to kneel by his side.

"It's alright, Harry. Don't worry." He assured him through clenched, although that didn't aid the remark of him being alright, "Albus, would you please take on the delight of calling Severus back in here?" He asked weakly.

The ancient wizard lowered his head into the fireplace, seemingly calling for Snape. From all Harry could put together the Headmaster and his ex-DADA teacher had actually Apparated over to the graveyard, only snatching the woman away from under their eyes in a flash-fight. Why would they ever, ever do something so jeopardous? The nameless girl, meanwhile, was shivering uncontrollably, hands clamped onto the table as if her life depended on it.

"Harry, would you be so kind to get some of your clothes for her? Some jeans and a jumper will do." Dumbledore asked him with the ever-so-present calming tone.

Momentarily deciding not to linger on his hard feelings for the enigmatic man right then, Harry did as told, collecting the garments up in the room he'd noticed his belongings being stashed away earlier on his exploring-trip. Back then, he'd wondered how in Heaven's name they'd been able to bring his belongings back there, without him actually knowing it. Then again, he'd been knocked out way to far after being exposed to two calming charms.  
Re-entering the kitchen, Harry winced as he was confronted with the onyx black eyes he could only recognize as Snape's. He promptly handed over the clothing when the elder wizard gestured for them.

He turned his back to Harry and stalked over to stand by the white-haired woman instead, but then he hesitated, shooting –surprisingly- a pleading look at Remus. Not understanding, Harry regarded the wordless conversation. He did, however, grew a nice scarlet blush as Remus unbuckled the robe around her neck, while Snape carefully held her upright.

This elected the first struggling movements out of the girl, as she obviously felt threatened, but wasn't even able to stand up straight on her own.

"It's okay… we're not going to hurt you…" Lupin reassured quietly. He, too, was supporting a color that rivaled Harry's Quidditch robes.

Politely diverting his gaze, Harry could hear her reply, "What happened…?" her voice nothing more then a shaky whisper.

"You've been sleeping for quite a while now." Snape explained evenly, "Do you remember your name?" Although he was doing a wonderful job in suppressing any signs of physical discomfort, his voice was missing its otherwise razor-sharp edge.

Grudgingly holding herself upright by leaning on Remus' shoulders, the soft reply came, "…Alex."

"Good. Now carefully sit down."

A chair was pulled backwards, followed by rustling clothes.

"It's okay Harry, she's decent." Remus said on a relieved sigh.

Tentatively, the raven head shot a glance over his shoulder, before turning around completely. Eventually deciding that just standing there looked rather idiotic, he sat down himself, next to Remus. His emerald eyes never left their strange visitor, sitting weakly on her chair, eying her surroundings nervously.

"Where am I?" came the question to no one in particular.

Dumbledore gave her a steaming cup of tea and answered her question "Number 12 Grimmauld Place, but more importantly; how are you feeling?"

Alex took quite a while to think about such a simple question, and eventually she settled with, "Alright… I'm shaking a little. I can't really remember what… happened." She eyed the tea suspiciously, "What is this?"

"It's something you can drink, makes you feel better. Look out though, it's warm." Snape told her matter-o-factly.

_She doesn't know tea? _Came Harry's immediate inner question.

Her gaze seemed to focus more as she blinked a few times experimentally. Then here interest was draw to her cup of tea. Alex was glaring at the innocent porcelain object as if it was the Mug of Pandora.

"Alex? We need to ask you a few questions. We know you are tired, but we really need your help." Dumbledore asked her gently.

Alex nodded slowly as if she braced herself for some kind of outburst.

"What is the very last thing you remember?"

She sucked in a deep breath and seemed to dig in the uttermost dusty corners of her memory "Not much really… stone floor. It was cold. A lot of noise. The cloak you put around my shoulders… that's it, nothing much before… the sleep"

Dumbledore's gaze seemed to X-ray her right on the spot, "They never woke you up before?"

A deep frown rumpled her forehead and she chewed on her lower lip, "Not that I remember…" a shiver ran visibly through her body as she seemed quite disturbed about the fact she didn't remember.

Suddenly her head shot up again, even more pale than she had been before, "I….I remember all of you."

She looked at Remus. "You're Remus Lupin. A werewolf."

To Snape: "You're Severus Snape…" it seemed that she wanted to say something more but she decided against it.

"Albus Dumbledore… Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Dumbledore smiled at her warmly.

And lastly her gaze lingered on Harry. For a long time. The young wizard was confronted with unnatural bright green eyes "I'd say you're James Potter, but your eyes aren't brown…"

Simply stunned and beyond words, Harry gaped at her, his expression one of utter disbelief. How did she know that? She wasn't supposed to know that, she barely remembered her own name!

"How…. How…?" was all Harry managed to mumble helplessly.

She looked at him, her green eyes intense. Green eyes like his. "I don't know." She was scared. Terrified.

Harry groaned miserably and hid his face in his pillow. He was sweating profusely and the bed sheets clung to his body. Nightmares… every damn night; about Cedric or Sirius, or someone close to him, dying because through some fault of his own. He was fighting a losing battle. How was he, of all people, supposed to protect his loved ones and the whole damn world wide population from Voldemort? His lack of sleep and appetite had made him skinny and weak. Dark circles around his eyes, the once so bright green dull and expressionless. _Harry Potter, the great protector of the century… _he thought in mock.

His scar burned and he knew that Voldemort was furious because of the girl. The girl! He turned his head and saw her sitting upright in bed, in a fetal position.

They shared a room –the same one as Ron and Harry shared last summer- so that Harry would be there if anything went wrong at all.

She heard the rustling of his blankets and shifted a little so she could look at him. Her eyes too had a haunted look over them, her face gaunt and pensive.

Harry rested his head on his hands, so he could look at her, the oversized t-shirt he gave her hung down over one of her shoulders. "Can't sleep?" his voice was hoarse, throat dry.

Alex gave him a forced smile. "Not really…" she answered, a little awkward to the whole situation "You alright? You were turning and twisting, but I was afraid to wake you."

Harry cracked his fingers as murmured absently "Yeah… I'm okay."

The unearthly shimmer in her eyes brightened at his response. "You're a terrible liar."

The speed at which she caught up with her environment was awing to say at least. Especially as Snape had explained that she was suffering from magical poisoning and temporary memory-loss. Yet within the sparse five hours she'd been here, she picked things up rather quickly, funny enough it were the simplest things that confused her the most. Like teacups, or lemon drops.

Harry snorted and flipped his legs over the edge of his bed as he ran a hand through his unruly dark hair. "You don't seem to be doing much better." He said eventually, sidestepping the whole-Harry-being-alright-issue.

She hmmed "I simply don't understand what happened. I know a person's supposed to remember more than just their first name… and the most disturbing thing is that I simply _know _that there's nothing more to remember."

A dark eyebrow was raised at the strange girl, "You really don't remember anything? At all?"

"Nothing." She sighed and rubbed her eyes.

Just when Harry though she'd drifted back to sleep he heard her whimper "I feel so empty…"

Her long white hair was a tangled mess and hung lifelessly around her shoulders. His heart drifted out to her. Somehow he could understand her. Somehow she might understand him. Maybe, just maybe, he could help her. He pulled himself clumsily to his feet and shuffled through the chamber over to his trunk. He opened it. He knew that somewhere, although probably tucked away in a forgotten corner, there was a comb. After a while he found it and Harry couldn't help but wonder why he even had it, he never used it anyway.

He sat down on his bed and patted at the empty spot next to him. "Sit."

She arched an eyebrow and hesitantly moved over to him and sat down. She looked at the comb. "…What is that?", Alex muttered, vaguely ashamed.

"That's a comb. Here, let me show you how it works." Very carefully, not wanting to startle her, he sat behind her, his legs at either side of her, and took a long strand of her hair. He tried to pull the comb trough it, but had to untangle most of it with his fingers anyway. Alex remained silent, only her calm breathing audible. Harry had no idea how long they sat there like that, but eventually her hair cascaded down her back and he could pull the comb through it without a problem. It was a friendly gesture, and the raven head was rather confused as his body did not react in any way whatsoever to her raw beauty. He found her very pretty, but nothing other than that simple fact was confirmed. Also, she reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it.

"There you go."

She touched her hair, as if it was the first time she noticed it. Alex looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. "Thanks!"

"Wingardium Leviosa" he demonstrated, as he lifted the vase up from the table. Slightly flicking his wand to keep the object hovering in the air, he looked over to his companion.

Alex was watching him with complete rapture, seemingly finding it incredible what he was doing.

Harry had not been allowed, much to his protest, to return to the Burrow. Dumbledore had assured him that they would be visiting next week, but that right now things were in too much chaos. So, he passed the days teaching Alex the things that spontaneously sprang to mind (he had the permission from Dumbledore to practice magic with her for the time being, if only it was not used for any other goals than educational ones) and visits to Buckbeak. However, yesterday, they had come across Kreacher, and the elf owed his life to the fact that Remus had been able to stop Harry from actually ripping the traitor apart right then and there. Kreacher had been taken away, and Harry's only concern was that it'd better be far away, seeing as he would not let him get away a second time.  
Being at Grimmauld grated Harry's nerves and the only distraction that he had from actually going insane was Alex's presence. Their conversations had been strained, filled with awkward silences, but they were starting to get along quite well, the more Alex picked up with the daily routine.  
The only explanation he'd gotten for the reason they'd risked their lives in getting her here safe, was that there had been enough casualties of war already and this time they'd the chance to prevent yet another innocent being murdered. Harry knew they were lying, but seeing as it wasn't completely his business this time, he gave up on stalking Remus throughout the place.  
Other than that, Harry remained in a distinctly foul mood, yet he did his best not to work it out on either Alex or Moony.

Even though a little reluctantly, he handed his wand over to Alex, whom accepted it warily, "C'mon, give it a try."

Shooting him a yeah-right glare, she swished the wand and said: "Wingardium Leviosa."

Abruptly the vase shot up in the air and crashed against the ceiling. As the shards of glass rained down, both of them covered their heads to shield themselves.

The shards tinkled as Alex shifted on her chair, "Sorry." She apologized with a sheepish grin as she handed the wand back over to Harry.

The emerald-eyes youth was still gaping at the remains of vase with a distinct twinge of nervousness. How the hell had that came to be? But then he reminded himself that the wand chose the master and not the other way around. Ollivander would shake his head in reproach if he'd know.

"Ungh, okay one more time…" Alex muttered darkly, clearly having had her share in practicing magic "Accio pillow!" she shouted. Within a blink of an eye the so said object shot across the room and hit her full in the stomach, with such a force that it knocked her off her feet. Again.

Immediately Harry was by her side, "You okay?"

"That's it, I give up! This is not going anywhere." She grumbled, throwing the pillow carelessly away.

Harry offered her his hand to pull her up, still rather confused about why everything she tried came out with a triple effect. Yesterday they'd tried 'Incendo' and it had come out like a flame-thrower. Naturally they were banned to practice that spell.

"That pillow is against me, I just feel it!" she droned on rather annoyed. He had learned she was easily frustrated when something didn't go the way she wanted. "Fucking pillow." Even more amazing was that she seemed to remember offending language better than anything else. Her vocabulary certainly had extended greatly in the cursing section. She shot the pillow one last dark glare, at which it promptly exploded in a burst of feathers. The white down flew up into the air and proceeded to rain down over the whole area as the two young wizards remained frozen like statues.

"Uh what did you do?" Harry finally managed as he decided it would be better to ditch their efforts in trying to teach Alex some spells before the beginning of the school year. He did not want to lose any limbs. He held his hand out to claim his wand back, which seemed like an entirely sensible thing to do, before she transfigurated anything into a skrewt.

Yet Alex promptly pointed at the floor, slightly pale. His wand still lay on the place where she'd been sitting a moment ago. Alex pulled a feather out of her hair and looked at it contemptuously before flicking it at her roommate. "Whatever it was, I didn't do it."

He did nod in response, even though he was filled by an uneasy feeling.

Finally the day came that the Weasleys would be visiting and Harry was more than happy he would be able to lift the worries from his heart about their unusual companion. It was about 10 a.m. when the red-haired family flooed into the kitchen.

Harry crooked an eye open when he heard some commotion downstairs. When he remembered that it were the Weasley's he shot upright immediately, scrambled out of bed as he struggled with his covers al the while trying to gather his clothes. As he was buckling his jeans he shot a glance at Alex's direction, but the white-head remained sleeping peacefully. For a moment he squinted at her face, the feeling of recognition washing over him again. He still couldn't figure out why he felt like he'd seen her before.  
Shrugging himself out of his inner brain mill, he grabbed a t-shirt and headed right towards the kitchen, yet not without the usual apprehensive glance at the portrait of Mrs. Black, but she remained silent behind the curtain.

The kitchen was filled with exited murmuring, shuffling and the housy prattling of soup cooking on the fire. Before he could actually open his mouth to greet anyone, he was cornered by two furious Weasley-woman and a bushy-haired Gryffindor prefect.

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione burst out, "Don't you ever dare scare us like that again!"

"Honestly Harry, you wake us up middle in the night, screaming like you're being ripped apart and then you disappear for a whole week. Not to mention you didn't even write!" Ginny put in, shaking him at the front of his t-shirt.

"I was so worried Harry…" came Mrs. Weasley's shaking voice.

Blinking in confusion he stuttered "W-what?"

"Easy there, girls…" Remus interrupted "He wasn't allowed any contact until all complications were solved."

"Complications?" Hermione asked; backing away from Harry as Ron put a hand on her shoulder.

"That'd be me." Came the flat response from the doorway.

All heads were orientated to the source of the sound and Harry couldn't suppress another wave of recognition as Alex was leaning casually against the doorframe. She immediately grew a wide grin when all commotion died down and they all shared a puzzled expression at the unusual stranger in the doorway.

"Meet Alex." Remus supplied eventually, a wry smile playing across his lips.

The grin turned to a much softer smile, which lit her entire face with inviting warmth. "Hi… everybody." She said a little uncertainly.

Harry shuffled past Ginny and went to stand next to Alex, introducing her to the whole group. The green-eyed girl gave a nod at everybody politely, but remained rather silent otherwise and Harry remembered himself that with all the knowledge he had about her, she hadn't really met anybody else safe for him, Moony, Dumbledore, Snape and Voldemort. Or that was what he suspected at least; how it was possible was another mystery.

He directed her to a chair and sat down next to her himself. Molly provided everybody with a nice steaming bowl of soup yet she gave Harry a heaping plate with bacon, eggs and toast and couldn't keep herself from ruffling through his untidy black hair.

Sighing at the amount of food he was supposed to devour as he was not hungry at all, he poked it with his fork around his plate. Maybe he could sneak some food to Ron, sitting next to him.

During breakfast/lunch everybody kept sneaking interested glances at Alex. Harry kept quite silent and couldn't help himself and stared openly at their new companion. He knew he was receiving odd glances from Hermione. But right now he couldn't care. He tried to find… something about her that would give him further insight. Alex was like a puzzle he needed to solve, but there were so much missing pieces.

He had expected her to be shy and uncomfortable around the bustling group of Weaselys, but she eventually turned around quite the contrary. Alex was sharing a loud conversation with Fred and George, who seemed to find her fascination quite flattering, while she kept hearing them out about the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shop and was completely ecstatic when they told her about the Wildfire Whiz-Bangs.

How could a person so completely estranged from human contact be comfortable around such a crowd?

Molly, Arthur and Remus were having their own private conversation while surreptitiously watching the young adults laughing over something they were talking about.

The conversation abruptly died when Snape flooed in, evil sneer perfectly plastered onto his face, black robe billowing dramatically behind him. And was soon followed after by other members of the Order; Tonks, McGonagall, Kingsley, Moody and Dumbledore himself.

An uncomfortable silence hung in the room and finally Tonks chirped "Wotchers Harry, so good to see you lad." she gave him a warm bone-crushing hug, which Harry found himself returning it quite startled.

Dumbledore took in a more prominent position at the head of the table, his strong magical aura literally rising the hairs in their neck. Harry shifted in his seat uncomfortably. His first real reunion had been such a race against the time he'd forgotten about his 'issues' with the ancient wizard. He couldn't quite figure out how he felt about him and still regretted trashing his office that one dreadful night.

Dumbledore smiled warmly at them, but Harry noticed that the usual twinkle in his eyes was subdued and he seemed older than he'd ever had. "Good morning everybody, we all know why I'm here. It's about our unusual guest." His piecing blue eyes flickered over to Harry. "We, the Order of the Phoenix, had an emergency meeting last night, trying to decide what to do with her. And she'll be going with you to Hogwarts this year, also as a 6th grader."

"Albus, don't you think that will be too much of a pressure… she's far behind in all theory and practical subjects." Remus said tentatively.

Snape's lips curled into an unpleasant sneer as he spoke, "She'll catch up with them far too easily as her temporarily memory-loss disappears. It's all a matter of time."

"Uh." Alex cut in herself, frowning rather annoyed about the way they were discussing her as if she wasn't there in the first place "Not that I _know_ anything, but I kinda agree with Mr. Lupin. I can't even accio a pillow." She shot Harry a weak grin at the memory, which he returned with a reassuring smile.

"You'll do fine." Was all Snape said, "If all goes well, your memory will return to you clearly and after that, Merlin help us, your magic abilities."

Alex muttered a 'gee thanks' as she thought he was making a snide comment about her abilities, but Harry knew the Potions master well enough that he wasn't joking… If he even had a sense of humor that is.

Dumbledore cleared his throat "Yes, thank you Severus… Anyway, I want you to keep an eye on her, she'll do fine I'm sure, but you must remember that this is all going very fast for her…"

Moody picked in "On a more serious note, we'll be accompanying you all to your visit to Diagon Ally next week…" he glared at all the exited gasps. "This will not be a merry stroll; we must keep our guards up at ALL times. Understood?"

A chorus of muttered replies was heard and Harry couldn't keep himself from thinking "Diagon Ally… now that's been a while…" a feeling of nostalgia washed over him.

---

A/N: this is an edit, or actually a whole new chapter! Cause the last one sucked.

Thanks to my wonderful beta Keiko-keket for making this chappie typo-free!

See that little purple-ish button? Click the purple-ish button, because you know you want to… yes, you want to review this story! Okay, okay, want me to beg? I'll beg; pleasepleaseplease review? Pleeeease? No flames please but constructive advice please. Thanks!


	3. Diagon Ally

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ****Wihstrum**

**Chapter 3: Diagon Ally**

Hermione wandered through the large house that once was Sirius's. Ron and she would be staying over for the night, with only real reason; to be with Harry.  
From the brief moments they had been able to speak the emerald-eyed youth in private, she'd found out that the girl could not go back to where she came from -wherever that might be- and that she was suffering from temporarily memory-loss. His greatest concern had been the raw pulses of magic she did not seem to be able to control. Everything was rather vague beyond that.

Finally she heard laughter coming from sitting room and heard Ron's baritone voice call a 'checkmate', followed by a defeated groan from Hogwarts' Golden Boy. Peeking into the room she saw Ron clearing the deck for yet another game and in the couch was Alex, huddled between pillows and a big tome on her knee. Rather than reading she was absently staring at the two young men, even though her eyes were glazed over. She was in deep thought.

She smiled at the cheeky grin Ron sent her and calmly crossed the room to where Alex was trying to sort out the cobwebs in her head. The couch sagged as Hermione sat down carefully next to her, which was enough to startle the white-head out of her contemplative state. The feminine prefect watched Alex smiling at her tentatively. This was something Hermione had noticed over the past few days; Alex's face was either completely stoic, devoid of any emotion whatsoever or she would utter the brightest of all expressions she had ever seen, making her very likeable. The only thing about her which would never lie, were her eyes; they could be read like the book that was resting in her lap. Hermione smiled back.

Alex gazed flicked away nervously as she always did when she was around someone else than Harry. Whether the raven head liked it or not, Alex seemed rather fond of him, he'd obviously done something to win her trust.

"So, eh, where are your parents now?" Hermione clumsily tried to start a conversation.

Green eyes were widened with surprise, before her brow was rippled in thought, "I don't think I have any parents."

Hermione froze momentarily; she hadn't expected any answer along the lines of this one, "Do you have any recollection at all of your life before this place?" Hermione asked carefully.

"No. I don't have memories of anything." She hesitated and leafed aimlessly through the book, "Like when you just asked me if I had parents. I know what you mean by 'parents', but I can't even remember being a child. I know words and their meanings, but...I'd never done any of them. I don't have a 'life before this place'. I don't have a life at all." She fell silent and stared absently at a moving image in the book, which seemed to be demonstrating the Silencing charm.

Observing the expressions changing rapidly over the other's face, Hermione felt her heart ache for Alex. _Must be awful_, she thought, _having no idea at all of whom you are. _"Don't worry, you have a life. You just have to start living it."

Alex tilted her head sideways, a pleasantly perplexed look gleaming in her eyes. Her previously stoic expression turned into a genuine smile, "Thanks Hermione."

"My pleasure."

A distinct anxious feeling poured into the pit of his stomach as they flooed into the Leaky Cauldron. The place was as shabby and dark as ever, but yet it was crowed with wizards from all social classes. Tom shot him a toothless grin as he stood drying glasses behind the bar.

As if he'd sensed Harry's nervousness, Remus wrapped amiably an arm around the youth's shoulder. "Don't worry cub, it'll be over before you know it."

All he could do was nod, but the look of complete emotional exhaustion showed on his young face, even though the effort Harry was trying not to. Sirius Will was all that was on his mind, the finality of it seemed gigantic and Harry could not find a way to cope with it. With a quick glance at the werewolf's face, he learned that Moony was actually doing not so much better; the dark bags under his eyes showed the many sleepless nights filled with lonely insecurity.

The day after tomorrow school would start again, so after the Reading they'd go shopping, even though Harry sincerely doubted that he'd still want to.

"Kay, lads." Tonks spoke up, "We'll meet here again at 6 sharp, for dinner. You have the day all to yourselves, but don't forget; we're keeping an eye out for ya."

"But, first, we're going to Gringotts…" Remus spoke softly, not able to choke out the part of 'Sirius's Will'.

Tonks gave them a reassuring wink, yet seemed rather subdued herself even the color of hair seemed to share her sentiments as it was black today, and then moved her way out onto the street, the youngsters tagging behind. Tapping the brick wall with her wand, Tonks stepped aside as she waited for the archway to appear.

Harry stepped through, a wave of nostalgia overtaking him and smiling as he heard Alex gasp next to him. He remembered how amazed he'd been on his first time here with Hagrid, so how must it feel for Alex who'd just set her first step in the world. The dismay briefly evaporated from system and a deep content feeling settled in the empty spot as the typical smells and sounds filled him up as he walked through the streets. Yet his smile disappeared as quickly as it had come, when he saw Gringotts standing out clearly, a large white marble building between smaller rustic ones. Remus' back muscles visibly tightened as he stepped inside and Harry knew he was doing the same. In the lobby, Molly and Arthur Weasley were already waiting, along with Bill and the twins.

After a brief conversation with one of the Goblins, Remus returned and his voice was deceivingly flat when he said, "They'll be with us in a moment."

A pregnant silence settled between the lot of them, and it was Alex who spoke up first "This is something very personal. It'll be better if I just wait here."

Opening their mouths to protest, Alex cut them off "I won't go anywhere, I'll just wait here.", and promptly turned around to sit at the far side of the lobby, on one of the dark oak chairs next to an equally dark oak door. Harry had the sneaking suspicion that the chamber beyond that door was where they'd be going.

Before any other objections could be voiced, a tall dark-haired man approached them, wearing expensive business robes. After a formal greeting he introduced himself as Mark Wilson, an attorney at law, he would be reading Sirius' Will.

Harry's suspicion was confirmed as they were led to the other side of the lobby, and through the tall wooden doors. Alex did not look up until Harry passed by. A small smile settled on her lips and for once Harry did not feel aggravated by it as it was not a 'poor Harry'-smile or 'It'll be alright'-smile. It was merely an acknowledgment of his grief and the regret that she could not help him. He knew he was starting to see her as a friend, so similar to them yet exactly the opposite. As if she hosted many personalities in one body which in turn formed the most unique person he had ever met.

A long table was situated in the middle of the room and the torches made odd shadows dance across the walls. Dumbldore was already there as were a few others Harry had never seen before, but then again, Sirius had a big family and undoubtedly he would have friends he'd never met.

The reading of the Will was something he would never want to experience again; it lasted long and was very tedious. Sirius left every single one of them a part of his Estate, all the way from Hermione to every member of the Weasley family, his own family (Tonks and her parents) and finally Remus.

"Everything else is yours Mr.Potter." Mark Wilson concluded, and grey eyes regarded Harry from over silver spectacles "Nevertheless you are the wealthiest wizard in all of Great Britain."

The raven head felt nothing else than wanting to scream he didn't deserve it. He did not want becoming rich at the cost of the death of others. Not to mention over the death of people he considered family. Yet he found himself nodding solemnly, face expressionless.

He let his head drop back as they finally left the building -after withdrawing money- taking in a shuddering breath. Remus was doing something similar as well. The mood was definitely a heavy one right now, and Harry just hoped it would be lifted somewhere this afternoon.

"Ready?" Hermione asked softy as she came to stand next to him, briefly touching his arm.

Harry took one more deep breath, brushed his dark bangs unconsciously over his scar and gave her a firm nod, "Yeah, ready."

His friend shot him a warm smile, which actually managed to make Harry feel a little better. He started to learn that depending on his friends was different from being depended on. They were there for him when he needed them most, yet Harry questioned himself if he'd ever be ready to tell them about the Prophesy.

They found themselves being dragged immediately over to Flourish and Blotts, as Hermione's priority obviously was focused on getting their new books. Tonks and Remus blended into the crowd around them and soon enough it was like on of their trips in the very beginning, carefree and enjoyable. Even Harry found his spirits being lifted as he browsed through the various books stashed away in the cramped little store. After gathering the books needed this school year, Harry went to inspect the Defense books section, in hope to find something that would provide more defense techniques.

Alex was shuffling aimlessly through the store after she had gotten her books, since it was courtesy of Dumbledore that she could buy school supplies and clothing in the first place. She would pick out a book randomly, thumb through it and then grudgingly put it back as she had no means of buying it.

After that, Ron and Harry had gone over to Quality Quidditch Supplies while Hermione and Ginny took Alex to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions for her school robes and agreed to meet at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor for an ice cream at 4.

Harry draped himself lazily in one of the chairs at Florean's and waited for the girls to come back and listen to Ron's impatient complaining that he was hungry. The redhead shot a glare in the direction from where the three girls came.

Ginny dropped down and sighed contently. "Might say that's she's got a good taste for clothes, unique though…"

They ordered their ice creams, Alex eyeing it fascinated until Ron told her to eat it or it would melt. Or rather eat it himself.

Harry dozed a little off in the warm afternoon and heard his friends chatter in the background. He closed his eyes and relaxed. His mind became foggy. He walked through it, wondering what was going on… the hairs in his neck rose when he heard cries in the distance, a green pulsating light and then more agonized pleading. He reached for his wand, only to discover that it was gone. He knew he shouldn't be going towards the strange greenish glow, but he couldn't stop himself. Something was there; it called him, inviting him. The fog drew denser and denser and he stumbled over something. He looked down and looked right into the lifeless eyes of Sirius. His stomach lurched and the fog abruptly cleared and the ground… no battle field was littered with bodies. Corpses, slaughtered, the blood freshly pouring out of their wounds and still shuddering as the life was drained from them. His mind reeled and he turned on his heel and started to run, but the harder he ran, the more the dead became people he knew; Cedric, Hermione, Ron, Remus, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Dumbledore… his heart pounded savagely against his chest, but he couldn't stop running, and the dead faces of his friends kept staring accusingly up at him. The fog suddenly swallowed him and in his disorientation he ran into something and fell backwards. When he looked up, he stared directly into the red eyes of Voldemort. Immediately his head seamed to tear open and he screamed out in miserable agony. His enemy leaned down, bringing his serpent-like features only a few inches from his. "Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Lived. How much more must die for your futile attempts of defeating me? Your Hero-complex leads the ones who are close to you to their grave. Be afraid… you will never be able to beat me. You are weak. Just as your parents, just as Cedric and just as your dear dog Sirius…"

Someone hit him in the face, bringing him back to the world of the living. His breathing was ragged and heavy, his lungs starting to burn at the aggressive inhaling of air. He couldn't focus and saw a blur where he heard Ron's voice. It took a while before his vision cleared, yet the throbbing didn't stop. He saw Tonks and Bill shooing everybody away so Harry had some space and Ginny handed him a glass of water. He didn't drink it though; he turned it over his head, the icy water cooling the burning from his scar, briefly.

"Harry!" Hermione kneeled down besides him and pulled him in a friendly embrace. She rocked him making soothing sounds, rubbing his back. Harry didn't understand, until he wanted to touch his forehead and felt the wet streaks of tears on his cheeks. He'd been crying in front of his friends! He desperately wanted to sink onto the floor in a puddle of goo and die of embarrassment.

What had been a fairly good mood was definitely ruined for the rest of the day. After the vision or dream, he couldn't decide what it was exactly; the day had passed by quite uneventfully, although his mood had become bearable when they met up with Neville in the Stationary store where the fellow-Gryffindor was purchasing a new quill and parchment.

"Last stop, Ollivander's!" Hermione announced, she and Ginny had been trying to restore the mood, but failing miserably in their attempts.

When entered the dusty eerie little store and Ollivander peaked out from behind a stack of little black boxes. "Mister Potter, Miss Granger and Miss and Mister Weasely…. What a unexpected yet pleasant surprise." He arched a brushy eyebrow "Don't tell me that one of your wands is malfunctioning?"

"No sir, we're here for a friend of ours…" Hermione nudged Alex closer to the man, she seemed uncomfortable and he could see her brow sparkling with sweat. Harry felt for her; as he knew she hadn't been exactly fond of wands ever since she'd almost set the place on fire with 'Incendo'.

"I see…" he answered slowly with the familiar mysterious tone in his voice. "Well then young lady, come over here… yes. Why, aren't you unusually old to buy your first wand?" Alex opened her mouth to explain herself, but didn't find an excuse.

"Just as me, she broke her wand. She needs a new one…" Ron helped her out and Alex grinned lopsidedly at him, grateful for backing her up.

"Hmmm… what's your name young lady?" he asked her while he scooted over to one of the towers of wands, lining floor to ceiling with thousands of narrow boxes.

She shifted nervously from on foot to another, as her measurements were being taken, "Alex…"

"Alright then, Alex, try this one. Give it a nice little swish."

Alex arched her eyebrow and after a deep breath, she swished it carefully. Immediately the counter caught fire and they all hustled over to put a stop to it.

She bit her lower lip anxiously, standing rigid to the spot, "S-sorry I didn't mean to…"

"That's okay dear, boy what an explosion. You're quite forceful, aren't you? No matter, try this one… don't worry."

The green eyed girl took a deep breath and flicked it. A huge stack of boxes were conjured into little blue, chirping birds. Once again everybody scrambled around, trying to return the birds back to their original state before they could escape through a window.

Alex cursed under her breath and looked at the floor, pink flushing her cheeks as she was ashamed of her incompetence.

"Seems like you need a powerful wand to control your impulsive magical outbursts…" Ollivander murmured. Alex muttered an apology which he waved away. "That's not you're fault, but I must say that you're going to have quite a difficult time learning to control that."

Alex went through six more wands until she found one which could actually was able to focus her magical outbursts. It was made from acacia 12", pliable, the core made of the rare feather of a wing from a Pegasus stallion.

Around 6 they re-entered the Leaky Cauldron and Alex was glad, feeling as if her head might explode at the constant whirl of thoughts and sensations. She had known there were places like this, even more so she had recognized them before she'd realized it, but never had she expected them to be so… rich. There were so many things to see, hear, smell, feel, and learn. But deep inside her was the calming sensation of being alive, even though a big gaping hole still held the void within her. She did not know why she felt so empty, but right now it was being over-ruled by her experiences of today. She liked that, even if she was burned out.

Harry propped his head up his fist and allowed the tension the flow away for a moment. Things had been a little too hectic today: Sirius Will had filled him with loneliness, the vision had replaced that with anger and all the while by just being in Diagon Ally with his friends had made him happy. A good night's rest was what he needed now, clear out his mind, and then surrender to the blissful oblivion commonly know as sleep.  
He contented himself by looking at Hermione and Ron talking to each other. The redhead was resting his head in his arms, eyes closed and smiling as he spoke, freckles shifting with movements of his face. Regarding him with a gentle expression on her face was Hermione, sitting closer to him as usual.  
Just as him, they'd grown up. The things they'd gone through together had made them significantly more experienced than others their age. If not by their appearances, it was the look they held in their eyes that made that evident.  
Ron had grown out of his lanky posture, and was starting to take after Bill somewhat, slim and tall with a raw attractiveness. Hermione was a young woman now and Harry had noticed that she'd made more than one head turn as she walked through Diagon Ally. She was not what muggles considered perfect, like the bimbos you saw on MTV or in fashion magazines. No, Hermione shone with inner beauty and her smile lit her whole face, and her brown hair was as bushy as ever, hanging well over her shoulders.

Ginny was poking fun with her twin brothers, smiling broadly. Her red hair had grown well over the half over her back now and her chocolate eyes twinkled with the same mischief her brothers held. She seemed small and delicate, but Harry knew not to cross her if he liked to live on with all his limbs still firmly attached to his body.

He really loved them, more than they'd ever know. They were his family, his home and he was still so afraid that they might be the next ones to suffer because of him. He'd do anything to keep them safe and he would die if that was what it took.

Finally he lazily tilted his head towards Alex as dinner was being served. The white haired girl was nibbling thoughtfully on the end of her spoon.

"I though I already explained that you are supposed to eat the food _with_ the spoon, not chew the spoon itself." He joked lamely, feeling sorry for probably coming over rather cold today.

She gave him a friendly swap over the head, but her eyes twinkled in response. She dipped her bread in the soup and blew a careful breath across it. She did not want to burn her tongue as she'd done the first time.

"What were you thinking about?" Harry murmured before taking a scoop in his mouth himself.

Alex chewed her food contemplatively before she answered "Everything. There are not enough words to describe it all." She turned her eyes at Harry, "I like it here."

"We can come back over summer." He suggested.

She stopped herself from nodding, "Sure, but where do I go after…school?" she pointed out, the twinkling in her eyes dying down.

Scrunching up his nose as he realized she'd made a point, Harry thought about that himself, "I don't know," he told her honestly, "Are you of age?"

A confused expression flicked across her face and she arched her right eyebrow in question.

"Are you seventeen?" he explained with a small smile.

"I…" words got stuck in her throat "I don't know." She shook her head unbelievingly. "I never really thought about that. Do I look seventeen?"

Harry sucked in his lower lip as he observed her face: her jaw line was strong yet feminine, her white eyebrows arched gracefully above her eyes, her nose was straight, yet the tip had a cute jump in it, her eyes were large and shone unnaturally bright and long white eyelashes crowned them, and the tan was a stark contrast to the white hair. It was not blonde; it was as white as fresh-fallen snow. Her body was certainly that of a woman; sleek muscles stretched over strong bones, giving the impression of a wild feline and she had generous curves, pronouncing her femininity. "Yes, I think you are. I wouldn't even be surprised if you were older than us."

She just nodded, not knowing what to say about it, "If I am…" she stared slowly "what would happen to me then?"

Once again Harry had to deny her the answer, since he found none himself, "Would you mind staying at Grimmauld place?"

"I don't think so," she said with shrug, "If only they let me out more…"

Harry grinned at that, "Just you wait until we get at Hogwarts; I bet you'll love the tower, it looks over the Forbidden Forest."

She scraped the last of her soup out of the bowl and returned the grin, "Yeah, I can't wait!"

---

A/N: this is an edit, or actually a whole new chapter! Cause the last one sucked.

Thanks to my wonderful beta Keiko-keket for making this chappie typo-free!

See that little purple-ish button? Click the purple-ish button, because you know you want to… yes, you want to review this story! Okay, okay, want me to beg? I'll beg; pleasepleaseplease review? Pleeeease? No flames please but constructive advice please. Thanks!


	4. A New Start for Everyone

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ****Wihstrum**

**Chapter four: A New Start for Everyone**

As always, the first day of school would involve rushing and running around, complete chaos everywhere. Well it wouldn't be a normal start of the school year if the Weasley's weren't running behind on schedule. Harry merely had to toss in a few items such as toothbrush and some book he'd borrowed from Moony, while Ron still had to pack everything… typical Ron.

Hermione shooed him around, scowled and fussed about him nagging at him with 'I told you so's' and 'won't you ever learn's'. Ron was nearly reaching his ultimate point of frustration when Ginny lured Hermione away, claiming that she desperately needed help with something.

Alex was fidgeting nervously around, shifting on her chair and always running back up her room to check whether she'd packed everything.

Remus surely had been acting odd the last few days Harry found; he kept casting numerous knowing glances in their direction before smiling off into blank space.

When everything was finally packed, they were running late and all scrambled to get to the train in time. Escorted by Moody and Kingsley and Tonks were Harry and Alex, taking a muggle taxi, while Hermione, Ginny and Ron got to Kings Cross station using the underground, accompanied by Mrs. Weasely, Remus and Bill.

**At The Hogwarts Express.**

He cursed silently under his breath and tried to remind himself why he was so glad that he had been allowed to Hogwarts in the first place. The trunk was damn heavy and he couldn't focus his Sight. Everything was a haze of colors and other unidentifiable things, so he just had to guess wherever he was going. He had to find a compartment and a place to dump his stuff. He traced the wall on his left with his hand and tried to drag his trunk behind him with his other. He knew that it was because of his anxiousness that his vision had gotten shaken up with the weird colory-thing, but didn't like to admit to himself that he was, in fact, petrified about going to Hogwarts and away from all that was familiar to him.

He brushed some long, strands of stray hair out of his face with his left hand and when he wanted to lean against the smooth surface of the wall again, he found it gone and abruptly tumbled through the opening in the wall.

Finbar groaned on a heavy sigh, this was just getting better and better. "Looks like I found a compartment…" he mumbled to himself.

Sitting up straight, he searched the floor with his hands, trying to find a bench or a wall, heck, anything that could give him further insight about his position. He didn't want to move too far away from his trunk, because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to find it again if he did. Nothing. Where the hell was he? _Can't wait for the grass to grow… Here goes nothing, literally._

He stood up, brushed his robes, rather out of habit since he couldn't see anything anyway, took a confident stride forward…

And crashed right into the doorframe.

"Bloody fucking Merlin!" he yelled clutching his forehead where a spectacular bump started to grow. He cursed and damned and insulted all the bloody gods and divinities he could remember, but was also very relieved that he was the only person on this damned train.

"Are you okay?" he heard a friendly voice asking him.

Finbar desperately wanted go drown himself in the toilet and felt his face burning. _Don't I just have all the luck? _

He rubbed his forehead furiously, trying to hide his blush. "Yeah… I'm alright."

"Nasty bump you got there, here take my hand…"

_Oh-o… _Finbar mastered all his willpower to see the stranger's hand, but in his frustration he failed miserably, only causing to disturb his Sight even more. He grabbed in the air, and of course missed to catch the hand. He grumbled and scrambled to his feet.

"It's alright… I'm just completely making a fool out of myself…" he grinned sheepishly and hoped it was in the direction of the other. He could hear and sense -he'd always been able to- that it was a young man and very friendly one at that.

"Hey Harry, wait up…"

Finbar grew considerably anxious and just prayed to regain control over his Sight. The second voice was that of a young woman, also a friendly presence… somehow a little bossy.

"Oh, a new student? Nice to meet you, I'm Hermione. A prefect."

She mentioned that last fact with blossoming proud and he could hear her pronounce 'prefect' with a capital 'P'. He smiled unconsciously.

He dragged his fingers through his hair in a nervous gesture, "I'm Finbar. And yes, I'm new here. A transfer."

"Must be pretty nervous then?" Harry replied on that, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"A little…" Finbar slapped himself mentally as he heard his voice wavering and felt his cheeks starting to burn, adding only to the already so embarrassing situation.

A warm hand touched his arm, and Finbar felt a surge of emotions that wasn't his creeping up his skin and clouding his senses, but it felt alright somehow, comforting.

"Why don't you sit with us? But the compartment will be crowded; we've got quite a gang with us…"

_Oh Merlin… more people. Okay breath in… they won't eat you. Right, it will be more likely _you_ eating _themFinbar shuddered and swallowed convulsively at that, trying to push that thought as far away as possibleHe mumbled his gratitude under his breath, and tracked after the sound of their footsteps, palm pressed against the wall.

Harry gave Ron a sharp nudge in the ribs as the redhead burst out in snickers when Finbar bumped into the wall, right next to the door of the compartment. With a hiss, their new companion excused himself once again and entered wearily the compartment they'd occupied.

Well, his behavior certainly was odd. Especially seeing as he was now trying to push his trunk into the wall instead of under the bench. With a shake of his head, Harry crouched down next to him.

"Finbar… that's a wall." Harry said softly, biting back a smile.

"Oh." Finbar turned to look at him, brown shimmering "Right."

Harry leaned in a little closer, "That wall's not going to budge, even if you keep trying all year long."

The young man let out a nervous chuckle, and let Harry help him to get his trunk safely onto the luggage carrier. Meanwhile Harry took the opportunity to study him more carefully. He seemed a little older, but was about his height and shared the same thick, unruly mop of ebony black hair, although his was much longer, reaching just past his shoulders. He had a goatee, and a handsome face with pronounced cheekbones and a straight nose. His chest was broad and muscular, but not bulky. But most remarkable were his eyes; the were a very, very pale blue, yet clear with an ever-present knowing twinkle and all the same they were deep pools of mystery and emotion.

Finbar gave him an appreciating nod and rose himself. Without much further consideration, he turned and bumped head-on into a very startled Alex, knocking her backwards. Lucky for her, Ginny was right behind her and managed to catch her before she could hit the ground.

"Can't you see where you're going?" Ginny said; tone revealing a hint of irritation.

Finbar drew in an audible gasp, rather aggravated by the whole mess he'd worked himself into. "Nope… I can't." he was a little pleased at their change of attitude. From amused to shock in 0.8 seconds. Not bad.

"Y-you're blind?" it was the same girl who snapped him of. He flinched slightly at her boldness.

"No, I'm not…it's just that I have this weird colory-thing as a 'second' manner of visualizing things." He sighed and carefully sat down next to the wall, shielding one side from his chaotic rampage. "When I'm nervous, like right now, my normal Sight and the color-Sight get messed up… I can't focus and therefore trash the place without meaning to." He blurted out, feeling distinctly uncomfortable "I'm sorry; I hope I didn't hurt you?" He asked, directing himself to the person who he'd knocked over.

The soft cushion of the bench sagged when someone sat down besides him. "That's quite alright."

And suddenly the world came back into focus and he had to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight streaming through the window. He hadn't seen that clear in a long time. With a jerk, he turned to look at this person who seemed to have such an effect on his Sight. It was a young woman. And she was simply beautiful; not like the 'perfect' women you saw on the cover of Vogue, but he couldn't remember when he'd ever seen such raw beauty. Her skin was tanned, she had small little freckles over her nose and cheeks and her hair. It was stark-white; as were her eyelashes and eyebrows. She had unearthly blazing green eyes, which were actually rather intimidating. She was a good head shorter than him, lithe and yet athletic.

"I can see you." was the first thing that rolled of his lips.

White eyebrows shot up, "I know." Came the flat response, yet not without a small smile around her lips.

A blush flushed his cheeks, as he realized how dumb that must have sounded. He shrugged it of, and instead shifted his gaze around the compartment, very curious to really see -rather than feel- his 'saviors'.

Directly opposite was a skinny young man, with windblown raven-black hair and a pair of eyes that could match the girl next to him, even through they didn't really seemed to 'shine'. He was positively sure that he could read in the dark if the girl next to him opened her eyes. He was wearing round spectacles and his cheeks were rather hollow. A tiny lightning-blot shaped scar peeked from under his dark bangs, above his right eye. If he weren't so thin, girls –and boys- would probably throw themselves at his feet. Even though he was looking at him through the real vision, he could easily sense the distinct raw power that surrounded him. It was not menacing, but pure, drawing people to him like moths to a flame.

"You're Harry Potter…" he stated, a little awed. There hadn't been any history book or Dark Magic book that did not mention this young man at his old school.

The latter brushed his fringe over his scar trying, effectively hiding it, "Yeah… I guess I am." He mumbled with a weak smile.

As the boy-who-lived didn't really seem to appreciate to be gaped upon, Finbar directed his interest to the remaining of the company.

Next to Harry was a tall, young man with fiery red hair and little freckles spread over his nose and cheeks. His voice was pleasantly baritone when he introduced himself as Ron Weasley and Finbar sensed his devotion and loyalty.

Seated next to him was a young woman and he could recognize by 'feeling' that it was her who'd introduced her earlier as Hermione. Her fairy-like face was framed by a waterfall of brown, bushy hair, settling of her big chestnut-brown eyes. She couldn't help but straighten her prefect's badge as he saw him looking at her.

Finally, seated at the other side of the white-haired girl, was a younger and feminine version of Ron. Her hair was as vivid a red as his, worn as a long mane and her eyes were bright chocolate brown. She radiated determination and a strong ability to care for others.

He cracked a sheepish smile when she caught him looking at her.

"Sorry for barking at you earlier." She apologized, blushing slightly.

He reassured her: "That's okay; I must have made a fool out of myself." and gave her a wink to emphasize the point.

"By the way…" He looked at the girl sitting next to him, "You seem to have an effect on my sight." He let his eyes wander around the small space again, relishing the ability to really see. "I can see you now."

Harry raised an eyebrow at this. "Well Alex seems to be special in many ways; things tend to spontaneously explode whenever she enters the room." He shot a cheeky grin at her.

"Oh sod off Potter!" she spat icily, pinning him under a heated glare.

The Gryffindor couldn't help but think _There__ it is again!_ As a distinct feeling of recognition screamed out in obviousness, but Harry still couldn't find the matching link.

But then the glare vanished and was replaced by a warm grin, not able to pretend she really was angry at him.

Ron and Hermione left them soon after, attending their prefect duties, but promised to join them again as soon as possible and Harry found himself staring melancholy out of the window. It seemed only like yesterday that Padfoot had run along with the train, wagging his tail.

Catching up on Harry's train of though Ginny reached out and touched his hand, "Feel like taking a walk?"

The Gryffindor desperately wanted to accept her offer, but found himself hesitating, not really sure about Alex or Finbar. The white-head gave him an appraising look, before smiling at him "Go on, I won't bite him." she said with a smirk as she glanced over at Finbar.

He pouted his lips and made up his mind, "Thanks Alex. We'll be back soon."

Receiving a wink from Finbar, which he returned with a smile, he followed out after Ginny. The youngest Weasley put a comforting hand on his arm, and Harry grinned weakly back at her, a little embarrassed about moping so openly. They passed several compartments, until they found the rest of Harry's roommates huddled together and obviously having a great time.

"Hi guys!" Harry greeted as he leaned into the compartment.

He received a warm reply and an invitation to sit with them. He tugged a seemingly annoyed Ginny after him, and he gave her a questioning glance. She wrinkled her nose and gave a barely visible nod in Dean's direction, and catching the frigid look on his dorm-mate's face, he understood that it was over between the two of them.

"So, uh, how were your O.W.L.'s?" Harry asked, wanting to save Ginny and Dean the uncomfortable confrontation.

Neville nearly jumped at that "Quite alright! I passed potions with an 'A' for my theory and 'E' for my practical! I can't believe it! I might be able to be an Auror after all!" he gushed, cheeks tinged pink.

"What 'bout you Harry?" Seamus asked, biting the head of his chocolate frog.

"Well, I've got eleven OWLs." He answered with feigned casualness.

Seamus gaped at him blankly, nearly choking on his frog, "Eleven?"

They lapsed into a pleasant conversation, chatting amiably, even though Dean and Ginny didn't acknowledge each other's presence, which made Harry slightly uncomfortable as they both were his friends. Several members of the DA poked their heads in, asking whether the classes would continue, and each time Harry had to deny them the answer.

As Ginny and Harry took the trip back to their compartment, she looked up at him and asked, "Are you going to continue DA? I know a lot of us are looking forward to it."

Harry bit his lower lip and frowned, "I forgot all about them. As a matter a fact, I don't even know what going to happen to my Quidditch-ban nor my Occlumency lesson. I've only seen Dumbledore twice this vacation and both times I hadn't had the time to ask him."

Ginny patted his arm and gave him and assuring smile, "Don't worry. It'll be alright."

He just nodded, slid the door open and found that both his prefect friends had returned. Hermione had her nose buried in a large dusty tome, which didn't surprise Harry one bit, and Ron seemed to have challenged Finbar to a game of Wizard chess. The dark youth was on the way to a spectacular defeat, and was frowning incredulous at Ron's moves. Alex had dozed off, and was sleeping silently.

"So," Ron looked from over the board at a completely frustrated Finbar, "From which school did you transfer?" The question was partially muffled by a Cauldron Cake.

Finbar was still eyeing the board, watching how Ron sent his queen to Finbar's fearful shrieking tower. With a shake of his head he leaned back and answered, "I'm from Durmstrang."

A pregnant pause hung in between them as the train rumbled through a wide open field. Finbar glanced nervously around with a distinct feeling he'd said something wrong.

The ever-so-collected Hermione shot them an ire look, before asking him politely: "Really now? Why did you transfer?"

Briefly, an unreadable expression appeared in his eyes, seemingly rather unsettled, but he quickly collected himself and answered, "I had some personal problems there, which wouldn't allow me to attend there any more." He muttered vaguely and became suddenly very interested in how graciously his knight was being chased of the board.

Hermione tilted her head, studying from under her brown eyelashes. Carefully he met her gaze, and she nodded at him with a small smile, understanding it was none of their business.

The weather remained variable throughout their journey north and the companions spend their time chatting and games of wizards chess. When the subject about Viktor Krum and whether Finbar knew him was being discussed, Ron grumpily dragged Harry along to the bathroom. On their way back, the lights in the train flicked on as darkness settled over the land. As they slowly made their way back through the wobbling train, Harry recognized the straggly, waist-length blond hair of Luna Lovegood who was about to enter a compartment.

"Hello," Luna greeted them serenely.

Harry found himself strangely glad to see her again, "Hey Luna, how was the expedition to Sweden?"

Her pale blue eyes were fixed on his face, before she smiled and answered, "It was wonderful! Observing Crumple-Horned Snorkacks must have been one of the most exciting things ever."

Ron smiled tentatively and shot Harry a sideways glance.

"Well, that's –eh- good." Harry replied, returning Ron's glance with a lopsided grin. "So –uh- what did it look like?"

Luna began a complete description about the appearance of the creature and Harry lost track somewhere near 'pink bunny slippers', so he just nodded and made impressed noises once in a while. After that he and Ron scurried back to their compartment, and all the while Ron kept murmuring 'Mental, that one' with a fond smile on his face.

Back in their compartment, some raindrops splattered against the window, but no real rain came through and occasionally some weak sunlight shone, before once again being screened by menacing dark clouds.

Wrapping his arms securely around Hedwig's cage, Harry followed the milling students after Ginny who was having rather a hard time restraining a protesting Croockshanks. Ron and Hermione had slipped into their duty to supervise and had parted with them a moment ago. Somewhere behind them was Alex holding hands with Finbar, effectively preventing him from running into random people, walls or other objects. The latter though was blushing graciously, which Alex was completely oblivious to; as she was too busy studying her surroundings and all the unfamiliar sounds and scents.

"First years over here!"

Harry's heart sped up at that, seeing as last year there had been no Hagrid, and it still gave him this really warm feeling of nostalgia. He raised his hand over the crowd to wave at the half-giant, which he got returned. His eyes glinting like black beetles, crinkled in a smile and he mouthed a 'talk to you later'. Harry nodded, and once again followed Ginny's lead.

Trusting Alex to haul him through this very confusion obstacle of clashing emotions and blinding colors, Finbar held onto the cage that held Ron's owl, Pig; currently twittering excitedly and nibbling amiably on Finbar's hand. Even though his own psychological state currently was a pandemonium; hosting feelings that weren't his, Finbar let his head fall back and took in a deep satisfied breath. The woodland dominating the area filled the air with a distinct fragrance of pine and moss and he gratefully inhaled it. It reminded him so much of home and the endless forests stretching over the softly sloping country as far as the eye could see. It reminded him roasting apples above a campfire with his dad and younger brother. It reminded him of his mother, scolding him for staying out in the rain. It reminded him of waking up; looking through his window and watching the unicorns graze in the fields, mist giving the impression as if they were walking on clouds.

The moment of serenity was disrupted as Alex's grasp on his hand tightened, cracking his fingers. They had approached the carriages, and accompanied by Alex's turbulent exhilaration came the unmistakable pulsating presence of something magical. He was absolutely sure it was in front of the carriages, he could already feel the delicate web of raw magic. But he saw nothing.

Taking the risk, feeling safe in Alex's care, he took down his mental barriers so he would see what they were facing. His world blended into a lake of rippling colors and veils of hues, tied together with emotions, feelings and the simple magic that was the world. Adjusting to the feeling of being swallowed by the intensity of it all, he tried to discern presence from human. Focusing his attention back to the carriages, he saw the silver outlines of a horse or something similar through the rest of the ethereal planes of light.

All of a sudden a part of his Sight was bombarded by a strong surge of raw, pure magic. It was Harry, enclosed by an aura of white light, a slightly darker streak around his head and heart which he recognized as sorrow. He was standing next to him, eyes transfixed on whatever it was in front of the carriage. Craning his neck closer, Finbar whispered, "What is it?"

He received a wave of dismay; Harry seemed to be rather unsettled by his question. He could tell that the Gryffindor was studying him intently, "Can you –see- them?"

Shaking his head pensively he corrected, "I'm seeing through my second Sight, so I can only pick up its 'light' let us just say. In the real sight, I can see nothing, but I do feel it."

Alex picked that moment to carefully let go of his hand, approaching whatever it was she saw. The world was once again a clouded mess, even if he did picked the normal manner of visualizing things again.

Hesitantly, she touched the neck of majestic dragon-like horse. It stared back at her through big, deep, soulless eyes, before nudging her with its nose, "They're beautiful." She breathed and trailed her fingers over the dragon-like skin.

Harry was rooted to the spot next to Finbar, who was staring to feel nauseous due to the boy-who-lived's radiating concern and inner turmoil. "Thestrals," Harry crooked, "She can see them."

Finbar's brow furrowed as he tried to place that piece of puzzle in a slot. As he remembered, his eyes flew wide, and he couldn't suppress a gasp. Harry had probably heard him, "She witnessed someone die." He confirmed his thoughts.

---

This chapter had been beta-ed by the Wonderful and Almighty Keiko-keket! All Hail!

Please REVIIIIIEEEW!


	5. One's most Inner Feelings

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ** **Wihstrum**

**Chapter five: One's most Inner Feelings. **

The trip to the castle passed by quite uneventfully, although Alex kept leaning out of the carriage so she could see the Thestrals. Harry couldn't help himself and was a little disturbed about the fact that she could see them. While he didn't want to think about Alex like that, he couldn't help himself and heard a warning voice in the back of his head say: _'She was found in the lair of Voldemort himself…'_

Alex tugged at Finbar's sleeve, pointing at the stars adoring the ceiling. Hermione, being herself of course, explained that the ceiling was enchanted and began rambling about 'Hogwards: A History' quoting several passages.

Harry smiled faintly. _Perhaps this year won't be that bad_… Scratch that, Malfoy at 2 o'clock.

"Hello Potty, I can see you're sense of fashion or rather; the lack thereof is as disturbing as always."

"With all due respect Malfoy... Piss Off."

"I am shocked that you don't even have time to argue with me Potty. But after all; the Golden wonder boy shouldn't be wasting his precious time on me and be off to save the day." He shot a dirty look at Harry and turned his icy gaze to Ron who was standing rather close to Hermione. "How are you Weasel? I can see you're associating with the mudblood. Very low, even for you."

The redhead prepared himself to break Malfoy's nose before Hermione put a hand to his chest, stopping him. "He's not worth it Ron."

"Being whipped around by her already eh?" he smirked evilly and his eye caught Alex. He stared at her bluntly. A few seconds ticked away.

"Ahem" Ron cleared his throat "She's something else that Pansy ey?"

Ignoring Ron's comment he asked "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Oh c'mooooon that must be the lamest pick-up sentence ever." Harry scowled, rolling his eyes.

"Shut it Potty." He studied Alex' face. "No serious, have we met?"

She arched her brow and opened her mouth to say something when the voice of the Headmaster echoed trough the Great Hall.

Apparently they'd missed the beginning of Dumbledore's speech since they suddenly heard the familiar "Let the Sorting begin!"

Draco snapped out of his fascination with Alex, scowled at Potter and his friends and strode to his table.

Hermione sighed. "Well, he hasn't changed for the better… Anyways we'll be waiting at the Gryffindor table for you. Happy Sorting."

They left Alex and Finbar hovering awkwardly at the entrance. McGonagall had explained that they still needed to be sorted; meanwhile they drew curious glances from other students.

After the first years had been sorted into their Houses, Dumbledore rose and the Hall silenced.

"Before we begin our feast, I'd like to point out, although most of you seem to have noticed, that there are also two new, elder students. I'd like to introduce you to Finbar Ganad and Alex Ladon. Circumstances asked for a transfer of school, so today I'm glad to welcome them at Hogwards. Let us once again sort these two into their house."

The students clapped politely and McGonagall gestured for Finbar to step forward.

Finbar scooted over to the chair, feeling a little ridiculous. He passed the Ravenclaw table and heard two girls whisper under their breath.

"Well, if he's from Durmstrang, he'll defiantly be a Slytherin."

"Too bad, he's rather handsome though."

"Yeah pity."

Finbar scowled and sat down. McGonagall put the Sorting hat on.

A few seconds passed in silence before the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

Finbar grinned wildly and sat between the cheering Gryffindors.

"Nice to have you with us, mate." Ron patted him on the back.

Finbar's grin didn't leave his face, but only broadened when he gave Alex' a thumbs up. She winked at them and sat down. McGonagall put the hat on her unruly white hair.

_What have we here? _She heard the hat's voice in her head. _Well well, this year ought to be very interesting. You're quite special, I don't believe I've ever met a student with such a strong magic aura **and **personality. I see trough you. I know **who** you are, **what** you are. _

_You're brave. Very brave and just as clever too. You also accept everybody as an equal. This is very hard… where to put you…_

Alex groaned. _Just sort me already…_

_And what a temper! Alright, don't get grouchy. Here we go. _

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaat!" rumbled Ron's voice trough the hall.

Harry's mouth fell open.

Alex looked perplexed and glanced at her friends. She saw 'Mione shrugging when Ron threw a fit, shaking his fist at the sorting hat. She shakily stood up. _Bloody Merlin, means I go somewhere I don't know no one. Alright then, I can do this. _She straightened her back and walked with long strides over to the Slytherin table who cheered at her. She sat down, earning a few pats on her back.

Once again the Headmaster stood up and the cheering died out. He reminded –as always- the students to check Filch's list and that the Forbidden Forest was off-limits. He smiled and then continued. "And on a more pleasant note; Mister Potter's Quiddich ban has been lifted."

Cheers erupted once again from the Gryffindor table who all wanted to congratulate Harry. The Slytherins shot them a dirty look, except for Alex who smiled at him.

"Enough talks! Let the Feast begin!"

Ron filled his plate with everything within range and looked at Harry "I really think the hat made a mistake this time. She's just not a _Slytherin_ you know? She should be one of us! A Ravenclaw at least, but a Slytherin?"

Hermione chewed her food thoughtfully, until Finbar spoke up. "It's a real pity she ain't one of us, but what's so bad about Slytherin?"

Ron nudged him "See that really pale guy with white hair and that's smirk on his face?"

Finbar nodded.

"That's bad. But I mean really bad." He glared darkly and lowered his voice "That… is a Malfoy."

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes heavenward. "It's just a fact that most dark wizards came from Slytherin." She swallowed "Voldemort was in Slytherin."

Ron winched. Harry was proud at her for saying Tom's name without fussing about it.

**The Slytherin table:**

"So." Pansy spoke up and directed herself at Alex "Ally it was?"

"Alex." She corrected her.

"Uh-huh. Tell us, what were you hanging about with those guys?"

She swallowed and looked owlishly at Pansy. "Who?"

"Well you know. The all-famous and beloved Potter, Weasel and mudblood Granger." Draco informed her.

"Harry, 'Mione and who?"

"Weasel." Draco repeated.

"I don't know any weasels."

"The bloody redhead, with freckles, more children then they can afford-family, Potter's sidekick?"

"Oh Ron. It's Weasley, not Weasel." She munched down a piece of bread.

Draco groaned. "We _know_. That's what we call them."

"Why's that?"

"Cause they're all… _you know_ Muggle-lovers. Granger, in fact, is a filthy mudblood." Pansy pulled her nose up.

"You're point being?" Alex looked at them confused.

"That it is wrong to be around Muggles and mudbloods and enjoying their company." Pansy snapped impatiently.

"There's nothing wrong with Hermione, you know, she can do magic."

"But _her blood's_ filthy; she's no pure-blood like _we_ are."

Alex shrugged. "I really don't get what you're point is. She is just one of us, a witch, along with all the magic. And I'm sure her blood's okay too."

Pansy scowled "You're an idiot! Hanging around those lowlifes, but you'll see…" she turned her back to her and started to chat with Millecent.

Alex stared at the back of Pansy's head before a deep frown marred her flawless features. She pricked her food absently.

Draco studied her face. _She really doesn't understand. Bloody Parkinson don't know how idiotic that sounded: "That it is wrong to be around Muggles and mudbloods and enjoying their company." Or "But her blood's filthy, she's no pure-blood like we are." _

But something nagged at him. _But what's more to it? That's what we think, that's what we loathe. We believe that people who are not of pure-wizard blood are abominations of nature… never realized that it sounds so stupid. So childish._

The silver-eyed Slytherin dropped his fork. _Oh Merlin. What am I thinking? If only my father knew… I should get a grip on myself. _

_ But she's right isn't she. What's so wrong about being born with Muggle blood coursing trough your veins? _an annoying little voice echoed in the back of his mind.

Meanwhile Blaise broke the blonde youth out of his reverie. "Oy Malfoy, snap out of it. Pick your fork up man, everybody's staring at us!"

Draco absently picked up his fork and muttered something about homework, while fleeing their confused expressions.

"Homework? It's the first friggin' day of the year man!" Blaise yelled after him, but Draco had already left for his room.


	6. Pleasant and Unpleasant Surprises

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ** **Wihstrum**

**Chapter 6: Pleasant and Unpleasant Surprises.**

Harry and his friends waggled out of the Great Hall, sharing a loud discussion. The topic of their conversation was about the not-present-new-DADA- teacher. They'd noticed the empty chair when they passed the head table, wanting to greet Hagrid after dinner.

Hermione was outrageous. "I can't believe it!" she shrieked "We're on the brink of war and they're not even teaching us to defend ourselves!" she emphasized 'not' by stamping her foot on the floor, nearly missing Ron's toes who quickly jumped aside.

"Hush Hermione, they won't leave us hangin'… I bet it'll be Dumbledore…" Ron comforted her, patting her awkwardly on her back.

"You think?"

"Yeah, don't worry 'Mione…" Ron frowned nonetheless, not very convinced himself either.

Harry glanced at Finbar next to him who was absently plucking his goatee. He seemed to be lost in deep thought. His light blue eyes were glazed over and lushes of black hair tickled his cheeks.

"What are you brooding on?" Harry elbowed him.

Finbar's head snapped up. "Oh! It's nothing really…" his pale eyes rested on Harry's face. "Just… thinking. Worrying myself about stupid things."

"Care to tell me?"

Finbar's face suddenly pulled into a pained mask. "I-I can't."

A painful silence hung between the two young men. Finbar ashamed of himself, Harry worried.

Harry "whooped" when someone suddenly prodded him in the back and spun around.

"Fear the new terror of Slytherin! Bow before my…eh… slytheriness…" Alex grinned sheepishly up at him.

"Bloody hell Alex… you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Ah I bet you just have a bad consciousness…" she looked at him darkly. "As I have been informed, my being sorted into Slytherin makes us archenemies." She struck a pose, holding her wand in a dueling stance.

Harry caught on with her. "Engarde!" he said, striking a pose as well. "Ha! Just typical Slytherin, attacking me from the behind!"

"You as a Gryffin_dork_, should be on your guard! Because I, Alex Ladon, herby declare an official prank-war!" she said with on odd voice, trying to be intimidating and swishing her wand at him. Before they could start poking each other with their wands, a loud voice broke their little display of silly companionship.

"Dueling is forbidden the hallways! You, mister Potter, should know this best of all!"

Harry stopped, started to mutter a 'Sorry professor' and stared up right into the grinning face of nobody less then Remus, his golden eyes twinkling in delight.

"Moony? What are you doing here?"

"That's _professor_ Moony to you, young man!" he said sternly, but a warm smile crept over his face.

"Really?" Hermione whispered in awe.

"Yes."

"Eee!" She squealed jumping up, wrapping her arms around Remus' neck. As soon as she did that though, she pulled away from him swiftly. "Sorry." turning her face away in embarrassment as she blushed bright red.

Ron arched his brow at her uncharacteristic reaction to Lupin's announcement.

Harry smiled genuinely, his heart making a leap in pleasure. "That's great…" and rested a hand on Remus' shoulder. Harry and Remus were about the same height; the young Gryffindor had caught up with him over the summer. "When did you change your mind?"

This caught Remus off guard. "Well…" an odd look crossed his face. "Dumbledore was still missing a DADA teacher and he asked me to take the job. He told me the students would really love that… and so would I." he said hoarsely.

Harry just _knew_ that he was hiding something. This was so not Moony, but right now he decided to leave him be with his little secret, he could pester him about it all year now.

"Anyway," Lupin said, breaking the silence. "I actually came out here to collect this young man here." He smiled at Finbar.

Finbar fidgeted, all kinds of expressions flashing over his face. From relieve to nervousness to obvious worry and finally settling with sadness.

"Dumbledore will announce my return next thing tomorrow breakfast. And speaking of the headmaster; he and McGonagall will be wanting to talk to the rest of you somewhere tomorrow.

Yes, you too Alex." He said at her mild surprise. "Well, Goodnight all of you and Alex, off to your dorm…"

Alex moaned and started to 'cry' on Harry's shoulder, the latter patting her head consolingly.

She bid farewell and dragged herself to the dungeons. Finbar waved at them, following Remus' lead. When they nearly turned the corner of the hallway Harry called out: "I'm glad you're back Moony!"

"I wonder what that was all about…" Ron muttered when he flopped himself onto the couch in the common room, it was completely deserted; all students too stuffed and tired to stay up any longer.

Hermione tucked her feet under her and barely managed to cover a yawn "Uh-uh… Did you see that look on Finbar's face?"

"I wonder if it's about his old school…" Ron muttered and added "You know… he's quite alright. I like him."

Harry left his right leg dangling over the leaning of his favorite couch. He ran a hand trough his hair, letting it point in all wind-directions. "He's hiding something else besides the Sight thing… I had a little talk with him before Moony came up to us. He's terrible worried, but refuses to say what it's about…"

"Probably the same reason why he left Durmstrang." Ron provided and looked at Harry upside-down, his fiery red hair brushing the floor. "Means he's a pureblood then… only pure-bloods are allowed at that school."

"Means they taught him dark magic…" Harry mused.

They fell silent for a while, each one lost in their own thoughts.

"You know… for as far as you told us Harry… Alex doesn't know anything about her past right?"

Harry nodded slowly, wondering where his bushy haired friend was getting at.

"And neither do we… right?"

Again he confirmed her by nodding.

"Well, if she's in Slytherin…. Then she's a pureblood… right?"

Ron's eyes widened "Bloody Merlin, you're right 'Mione!"

"Don't bloody Merlin me, Ronald Weasley." She scowled and added "And of course I'm right."

Finbar returned to the dorm half an hour later, under guidance of Lupin, though, he didn't want to get lost in this huge castle. He could imagine himself falling down one of the moving staircases already. He muttered the password (Animagus!), the portrait of the fat lady swung open and he stepped through. He jumped slightly when he saw the trio still sitting in the common room, smiling at him.

"You okay Finbar?" Hermione asked him sweetly.

"I guess…" He saw Harry's brow rumple non-believing. Finbar rubbed his temples and heaved a large sigh "Look, I know you aren't idiots… but right now I just can't tell you. Maybe later, but I'm not ready yet. It's not your fault; I think you're all great people. It's me. I'm sorry." He tried to explain them clumsily. He never was good at things like this.

Ron stood up and strode over to him, patting him on the back. "That's quite alright mate… We understand, but one day we'll drag it out you, whether you want it or not."

**Next Morning.**** Great Hall. Breakfast. **

Alex groaned miserably. She had heavy bags under her eyes and terribly wanted to put her head on her plate, the slice of bread could function as pillow. Last night had been horrible. Millecent snored unbearably loud, nearly shaking Alex out of her bed. Not mentioning the annoying childish remarks about her night shirt… it still was the same oversized t-shirt she'd gotten from Harry that one fateful night and she'd refused to part with it ever since. It was still early, small amounts of students entering every now and then. She'd given up on sleep at about 4 a.m. and had been down in the Great Hall from about 6.

Draco furiously ribbed his sore eyes, sleep hadn't come to him last night. The sudden revelation still fresh in mind… he'd been re-thinking and trying to convince himself that he was - as a pureblood Malfoy - better then everyone else in this damned school. Of course he was. He was handsome. He was smart. He was charming. Everyone respected and feared him. He was Draco Malfoy.

_Go me…_

Draco shook his head, trying to shoo away the disturbing thoughts, composed himself, put his scowl on his face and entered the Great Hall. He flinched inwardly when there was no one other at his table then the same girl who'd rocked his world by a simple conversation last night.

He slid down and filled a bowl with cereals. He added milk and idly stirred it with a spoon. He couldn't help himself and glanced over at the young woman. He tried to hide a smile when he saw her sleeping, her head on her plate and a slice of bread serving as pillow.

_Seems like she had an awful night…_

He warily studied who was in the hall and when he didn't see anyone else than some early Hufflepuffs and a few stray Ravenclaws he scooted over next to her. He lowered his mouth right next to her ear.

"Boo!"

Her head shot up and she looked around her bewildered "I didn't do it…!"

Draco gracefully raised a pale eyebrow. "Good morning…"

She shot him a confused look.

"If I'm interrupting…?" he asked amused.

"No…No…" she quickly covered a yawn. "You just startled me… You're up early…"

He smirked. "Right. So are you." he pointed out "You look terrible by the way."

"Aw thank you."

"No problem… breadcrumbs on your face." He brushed them of carefully with his sleeve. Suddenly he pulled back as if he'd burned himself on fire.

_What's wrong with me? _

Draco tried very hard to rein his emotions, settled with a dirty look on his face and glared at her. Alex looked as if she was going to laugh at him but eventually just smiled. She was giving him an odd look, a look that penetrated his soul and dug into his most inner feelings.

"Don't look at me like that, it's not like I forced you to be nice to me…"

The blonde's eyes widened. _Did she just read my mind? _Before he could reply something nasty, Snape pushed them their schedules into their hands. When he realized that Alex and Draco were sitting next to one other. Snape swallowed. Hard. He snapped out of his bewilderment when Draco cleared his throat, he strode off, his cloak billowing behind him.

"Impressive… does he practice that?" Alex commented on Snape's dramatic gesture.

"I still haven't found out…" Draco snickered and studied at his schedule, Snape's timing had been perfect, the odd moment covered up perfectly. "Ack! Potty, Granger and Longbottom in double potions…"

Alex looked smugly at him. "Aaaaah, perfect!" she said cheerfully. The young man just shot daggers at her.

"Why do you like the Dream Team anyway? They're just so…" he sneered trying to hide his curiosity.

"…So?"

"Well you know: Here we come to save the daaaay!" for emphasis, he put his hands on his hips, trying to look all heroic.

Alex giggled. "I don't know about that and I don't care either. They're my friends."

"Whatever… you're just friggin' mental."

"I'll take that as a compliment if it's coming from you…" she stretched her arms above her head and shot him a sharp look "You weren't that charming last evening either…"

Draco snorted. "Whatever."

Alex rolled her eyes at him. _Speak of the devil…_ Harry and his friends came in. She rose from the table and muttered just hard enough so Draco could hear "You're just jealous."

Ron yawned, displaying the half chewed and half drooled upon sandwich.

"Ack Ron, you're such a pig…" Hermione scowled at him.

Ron swallowed convulsively and gave her a look that perfectly imitated Hedwig's. "Aren't you in a cheerful mood today?"

"Well if you'd learn some manners I wouldn't have to call you a pig!"

Harry rubbed his temples… the school year hadn't even started properly and they were already at it again. When would they finally get over this childish bickering and get on with it…

"Guys…"

"I am not a snobby…!"

"Guys…?"

"Oh? I'm an insensitive prick? Well, Misses know-it-all"

"GUYS!" Harry yelled slamming his fist on the table, spilling the milk and water out of the cans. "Thank you and good morning to you too. Could we please have a civil breakfast here?"

"He/she started it!" they yelled in unison.

"Ron…" Harry warned him.

"Okay, okay…" he said, hands up in the air.

Finbar snickered quietly. _Totally over one another, yet both to stubborn to admit._ The hairs in his neck rose pleasantly when Alex slumped down next to him, rubbing her temples and groaning. She was a total mess.

"Seems like you had one hell of a night."

"Oh shut up… those Slytherin's are impossible… especially that one over there." she scowled, pointing at Malfoy. The latter caught her pointing and scowled darkly at her. Alex stuck out her tongue. "Prick…"

Ron patted her on her head… "We know… we know… I bear with you"

McGonagall, handed them their schedules and leaned down to between Harry and Ron. "I'd like to see the four of you this evening at 8 in the Headmaster's office. They thanked her and inspected their schedules.

"Ack… Potions… Harry you're going down…Snape will want you for breakfast after last year…"

"Thanks for pointing that out Ron… And you Alex?"

"Yeah I'm in… I wonder why I'm allowed in these classes anyway…" she shrugged and rested her hand on her fist.

Breakfast ended with a loud applause, save for the Slytherin's when Dumbledore announced that professor Lupin had picked up his job again as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Other then that he'd also informed them about a big feast (something similar to the Yule ball) end November.

Draco deliberately turned his head when Pansy batted her eyelashes at him. _Stupid cow…_ secretly, nobody knew that Draco loathed Parkinson. She was a bimbo in al meanings of the word and didn't have a personality, she just mimicked others. And the worst thing of all was…

_Don't think about that… that's into the very-far feature. I even have a slight chance that it doesn't happen at all…_

He was brought back out of his self-pity when someone tapped him on his shoulder. He glared up at her. "What? What do you want?"

"Where's Transfiguration?" Alex asked him coolly, ignoring his tone.

A few minutes later Blaise, Draco, Millecent, Pansy and Alex were off to double Transfiguration. Pansy and Millecent were gossiping about something, Draco suspected it was about the ' 2nd Yule Ball'. He shuddered at the thought of Pansy being his partner.

He snorted _I'd rather ask Potter…_ _I'm getting dramatic now…_

The blonde Slytherin angrily looked at the back of Alex' head, right before him, as though she was the fault of all this. She'd jammed her wand into an untidy knot of hair, it suited her though. Although she'd stood up to him, annoying him greatly at the one side, but also secretly appreciating it. Somehow she was pleasantly different from all the rest of the drawling Slytherin folk.


	7. Occlumency, Quiddich and DAmeetings

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ** **Wihstrum**

**Chapter seven: Occlumency, Quiddich and DA-meetings**

Harry and his friends calmly waited at the statue of the gargoyle for Alex to arrive, although Hermione was tapping her foot impatiently, he secretly didn't mind the Slytherin running late, it meant less time in same room he'd trashed last school year. He used to like Dumbledore's place, but right now he was… feeling awkward and nervous about it. He almost felt angry when Alex did show up, apologizing she'd gotten lost in the huge labyrinth of hallways, corridors, chambers and stairs.

They stepped on the spiraling wooden stairs, slowly taking them up. Alex seemed to forget her lack of sleep and tugged at Ron's sleeve who smiled at her and explained that this was the way to the Headmasters office. Hermione raised her hand to knock on the door, but as always they heard Dumbledore calling them in before she even could do so. The four youngsters shuffled into the large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises.

"Ah yes, welcome… can I offer you some tea?"

Harry automatically murmured a 'Yes please' more for something to do than being thirsty.

Alex held her cup absently and examined all the little silver instruments which were all whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. Harry's mind vaguely registered that the objects he'd shattered to pieces last June had somehow managed to restore themselves. The raven haired youth nervously peeked from under his dark bangs and felt a little pang of guilt when he saw lines of worry mark the ancient wizards face. The usual vitality that accompanied him subdued and stooped.

Worst of all, Dumbledore's piercing gaze rested on Harry first. "I understand you've been having nightmares every now and then."

Harry nodded slowly. "Yes…I've been practicing Occlumency though… but when I'm upset or tired I don't seem to be able to block him out completely."

"Well, I think we need to resume your Occlumency training straight away… although I'm going to teach you myself from now on."

"You sir?"

"You'd prefer professor Snape?" Dumbledore asked him amused.

"Nonono! Not at all… it was horrible last time, I doubt he'd even want to."

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I understand, besides he'll be busy enough tutoring our young lady here." His blue eyes locked with Alex' green ones.

"Me?"

"Yes, we think it'll be vitally for you learn how to block one out. It's for your own safety."

Alex nodded mutely and looked at the steaming cup of tea in her hands.

"We'll be teaching you two on Tuesday evenings at seven, we'll be using Minerva's classroom."

"We'll be together?" Alex asked quietly.

"Yes, as moral support."

The young friends looked at each other; Harry gave her a weak smile.

"Also, we'll arrange some extra defense against the dark arts every Saturday morning for you Harry, those courses will, of course be given by professor Lupin." Harry felt relieved at that, after all, Moony had taught him privately in his third year as well.

"And that brings us to your DA lessons… will you be continuing those?" he gazed at him from over his spectacles.

"I'd forgotten about those, sir…" Harry said truthfully. It had been dwelling around in his mind all day long. It had been one of the highlights last year, he'd enjoyed those. But it seemed like he'd be snowed under already. Occlumency, extra DADA lessons… Quiddich? What about homework? He heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. Slowly he saw the events from the Department of Mystery drift for his eyes. He saw Neville's determined look, how he fought for all whom he loved. He remembered how everyone who was in DA had an 'O' on their DADA examinations. He remembered Hermione's Patronius. And he remembered Cedric and Sirius.

"Yes." He said hoarsely. "I will sir."

Dumbledore's twinkle regained a bit of their brightness at Harry fiery gaze. "Wonderful! Seems like you better arrange them like you did last year; that way everyone can attend them."

McGonagall stepped forward, she'd held herself aside during the conversation. "As you've been informed last evening Mister Potter, your Quiddich ban has been lifted, that brings us to our next problem; Katie Bell has refused the offer of captaining the Gryffindor Team, her last year and the pressure of her N.E.W.T.-studies making it impossible to manage it all. So that leaves you as the next senior member of the Gryffindor team…"

Harry's mind took a while to process all that information… "M-me? Captain of the Gryffindor Team…?"

"Yes Potter, that's what I've been explaining to you for the past 5 minutes…"

_WOW! Captain of the Gryffindor Team! _And just as soon as he'd been thrilled, his mind caught up with him. _When? How? DA-meetings, Occlumency, extra DADA lessons… 6th year finals…_

"Although I'm flattered and I would love to… I---I can't." he said weakly, it felt like missing a step when going down the stairs. "When will I be able to prepare trainings? I think…" Harry glanced at his best friend from first year on whom had a dumbfounded look plastered to his face at hearing Harry turn down such an offer. He clearly thought his raven haired friend had gone finally insane. Harry smiled at him while he said; sure he was doing the right thing: "I think you should ask Ron instead. He knows a lot more about Quiddich then I do, it's been his passion for all these years and he would be an excellent strategist…"

_We should take a photo of this, Ronald Weasley completely speechless_.

"Don't look at me like that Ron. Close your mouth or something will fly in there and nest" Harry smiled at him as Ron promptly snapped his mouth shut.

McGonagall critically looked at Ron "What do you think yourself Mister Weasley?" she arched an eyebrow and barely was able to suppress a smile crossing her thin lips when Ron on his turn gibbered incoherently.

After a few attempts Ron settled with a simple "Wicked…"

Ron's huge grin wouldn't leave his face for the rest of the conversation.

"And finally…" Dumbledore said, a warm smile lighting his worn face "We've come down Misses Granger. It's a simply request, but one that might take a lot of time. I would like you to bring Misses Ladon up to date with Charms, DADA and transfiguration. You only have to lend her your notes from previous years and help out when she gets stuck."

Hermione brimmed with pride and said "Of course I will Sir, you can count on me!"

"Well that's all settled then! Sorry for taking up so much of you're time. I'm sure you're all tired."

They all rose and headed for the door wishing their superiors a good night. The door was barely closed when Ron thrust his fist up in the air and howled a loud 'WOOOHOOOW!".

Ron arranged Quiddich tryouts next thing following weekend. His enthusiasm started to rival Oliver Wood's, worrying Harry that none would dare to show up for the tryouts in his maniacal behavior. Ginny announced that she'd try for Chaser. When Ron asked Finbar whether or not he'd be giving it a try, the latter disappointedly muttered that he'd be doing more bad then good. Ron wouldn't have it and kept nagging and stalking him all week long, throwing notes at him in class and hiding them in his robes until Finbar finally gave in when Ron started signing made up songs about Finbar joining the team, nearly giving his housemates a nerve breakdown.

Hermione had helped Harry set his galleon to alert all the former members from DA and since it was 'official now' they'd made flyers letting everyone know it was open to all students. He doubted that many other would show up besides from the former members. He couldn't help and snicker when he thought about their reactions when he'd announce they'd be having a Slytherin with them this year around. Alex of course had immediately declared that she wanted in.

Occlumency had been a completely different experience from last year. Dumbledore proved to be a far more gentle and patient teacher then Snape ever had. He used meditation techniques to clear the mind which were far more helpful then the taunting remarks from the dreaded potions teacher. Alex on the other hand had been completely drained and couldn't stop shuddering after the session, even though Snape had gone far more easier on her than he'd went on Harry last year.

Harry had guided her down the dungeons, hugging her tightly and reassuring her that it wasn't her fault at all before he let the green eyed Slytherin go in. Little gestures of affection came easily towards Alex. He knew she wouldn't go all giggling and thinking 'they had something' and after the Cho-disaster from last year that would be the last thing he could use.

**Wednesday afternoon. Quiddich Pitch.**

"Drakie-poooooooo!"

_Oh no… _Draco quickly looked for a place where he could hide. Couldn't that wench leave him be? He shuddered involuntary when Pansy jumped up and wrapped her hands around his neck.

"You were wonderful! Nobody can fly as well as you do!" the pug-nosed girl squealed.

Draco he drew himself up, and looked down his nose at her. "What do you want Parkinson?"

Pansy tugged at his collar and brushed his Quiddich uniform. "I just wanted to let you know that you're gorgeous…" she giggled "But that's what makes us a perfect item, doesn't it?"

Draco growled, brushed her off and strode over to Blaise who was nearly wetting himself at the display, glaring as darkly as he could at him. When his 'friend' looked up at him, his eyes teary and as saw the blonde scowling darkly, he burst out once again, holding his stomach while doing so.

And of course it couldn't get better when he heard a soft feminine voice next to him "Drakie-poo?"

Draco narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. He took a deep breath and growled "Got a problem with that?"

Alex looked at Blaise who was standing next to her now. As if on cue they both burst out in a howling laughter, the green eyed girl supporting herself on Blaise's back while the latter was hunched over trying to catch his breath.

"Oooh…oh…. Aaaah ahahahahaa… ah well, enough of that." She pulled up a white eyebrow and poked him in the chest. "You owe me a galleon…"

"Gah we'll see about that when our first game comes…" he sneered.

"Tuh-tuh-tuh… I'm on the team now so you'd better get over it."

Draco tried to bore her into the ground with the most deadly stare he could muster. "You're still a girl."

"Oh really?" she elbowed Blaise "Let's give our Royal Iciness a little applause! How clever of you…" she pinched his nose and Draco furiously hit her hand away.

Alex grinned at him and sweetly threw him a kiss while she turned to leave.

"What. Is. Her. Problem. Eh?" he snarled through gritted teeth

Blaise snickered and rolled his eyes. "You just can't abide it when someone uses your own snide comments against you…"

"You like her."

"Of course! She's hilarious and I've never, ever seen a person, save for Potter, who's able to get to you." He ducked Draco's hand and hopped a few meters away. "Besides you like her too." Blaise fled from a furious Draco who'd didn't want anything other then to feed him to the Giant Squid.

Ron sprayed his pumpkin juice all over the table, his expression one of utter shock when Ginny told him Alex was a new Chaser for the Slytherin team. "When? How? Why?"

"Yup, she's Chaser and reserve Beater."

Finbar smiled proudly when he saw the Slytherin stroll over to their table, a horrible, wide, smug grin dripping down her face.

"I got in." was all she said.

"Way to go Alex!" Harry congratulated her "To bad you're not on the winning team…" he said sounding genuinely sorry for her.

She slapped the back of his head playfully. "We'll see about that! Wanna bet 5 galleons I'll make the first goal?"

"Ha! You're on!" they shook hands on it and Harry flinched at Alex' powerful handshake.

"You're all going down!" Ron spoke up "We're gonna kick your Slytherin arses ('arses' earned a 'Ron!' from a disgruntled Hermione) so bad you won't be able to walk for a month!"

"Promises, promises, … Anyways, when are your tryouts? Ginny told me you've got quiet some open spots…"

"This weekend. We need two new Chasers and perhaps some new beaters…I sincerely hope I can seduce Finbar to take a Beater position."

Finbar brushed a lock of ebony hair out of his face. "Ron… I'm as good as blind when I'm nervous! I'd probably end up breaking someone's neck. It's not like I don't want to, but I can't control the second sight."

"Finbar, have you ever thought about asking help?" Hermione asked, changing the subject quickly having had enough of their rambling.

Finbar scowled slightly at her "Of course! Nothing works. I've tried everything, glasses, potions, Charms, … Nada!"

"Instead of trying to make it go away, have you ever tried asking what it is in the first place?"

He felt incredibly stupid al of a sudden. "…No…"

Hermione huffed. "Boys!"

"I know!" Ron perked up "Why don't you ask Firenze? You and I both have Divination tomorrow." He gestured at Finar and himself.

Finbar absently played with is goatee before he slowly answered "Okay… but we'll stay after class, I don't want to declare to the whole school I'm hallucinating…"

**Thursday morning 3 a.m. Gryffindor Tower.**

Ron dazedly sat up in his bed and barely registered the agonized screams coming from next to him. The only thing on his mind was the feeling of sharp tremors. Hogwards was shaking on its grounds, hundred year old dust crumbling down from the ceiling.

_An Earthquake! Vol-… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! _

It was with that and Neville's worried calls that his raven haired friend sprang to his mind. He quickly turned his attention to Harry and his jaw dropped as he saw his friend sitting straight up, his chest bared and heaving, sweat pearling on it, clutching his head as if he were trying to keep it from splitting in two.

He jumped out his bed and barely got to the one 3 meters further, the shaking beginning to get worse. He grabbed Harry's shoulders, shaking him violently while calling out his name. Dean came to his aid and when yelling didn't help, Dean slapped Harry in the face. Four times were needed to bring him out of the grasp of terror he was in. The shaking died down as soon as Harry's eyes focused.

On the other side of the castle, Alex woke up.


	8. Inside Out

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ** **Wihstrum**

**Chapter eight: Inside out**

Harry slumped down in his favorite couch, hugging himself trying to stop the shivering, his jaw clattering. He even didn't see Finbar's perplexed gaze while he passed him. The Gryffindor didn't even wonder why he was down there anyway and not up in his bed. Ron sat down on the ground, his eyes never leaving Harry. He gave him a while to catch his breath.

"…You okay mate?" he asked him softly. Ron perfectly remembered what happened last two times Harry had awoken in a similar state. His dad… and Sirius.

Harry didn't answer. He just kept staring into the distance. When Ron considered taking him to the hospital wing he whispered. "I can't remember what I dreamed. Something about Tom and Sirius and …"

"…and?"

"I don't remember…"

Finbar gaped at his two housemates, he nearly felt sick himself when he briefly touched Harry's light with the sight. He'd never felt such agony and guilt contained in one's 'energy field'. He silently wondered what had happened last year, because it must have been so terrible, scarring Harry this deeply. Finbar knew he could help, but he was afraid to make it worse if he failed. The emerald eyed Gryffindor suddenly leaned away from Ron and threw up, gagging, tears leaking out of his eyes because of the fierce pain. Ron mumbled a quick "Sanito" to clean the mess, a little green himself. Finbar made up his mind and slowly crouched before Harry, calling out his name. It took a while before the latter was able to respond. Being so close to the pained youth made Finbar's skin burn and gave him a pounding headache.

"Do you trust me?"

The green pools of emotion that were Harry's eyes lighted up and he nodded weakly. Finbar clasped his hands in his, they were freezing and clam from the sweat "Close your eyes… I promise I won't hurt you." he sighed shakily "Ron, please don't interfere."

Before the redhead could splutter a response Finbar took action, he completely tore down all his emotional barricades and let his spirit touch Harry's. It was a careful questioning gesture and when Harry's barely responded, he knew that the 'vision' in Harry's dream had crashed his psychological health, in short, he was in shock. He fiercely forced himself into Harry's consciousness and pulled with all his might.

The next thing he knew he was holding his head, feeling like it would burst. The pain spread to every part of his body and the air was slammed out of his lungs, sending him sprawling on the flour gasping for breath.

Harry's eyes flew open when he heard an agonized moan coming from the floor. Finbar was being supported by Ron, who was as pale as Moaning Myrtle. He couldn't quite comprehend because the next thing that came to his mind was the vision he had.

"Gringotts!" He hastily stood up and ran out of common room, jumping over the two young men hunched on the floor in the progress and finally darting trough the portrait hole.

Finbar smiled weakly up at Ron, the burning fire in his body dying out. "Looks like it worked, eh?"

Harry ran as fast as his feet could carry him, slaloming through other panicking students in the hallways, vaguely wondering why they were there in the first place. His mind annoyingly pointed out that he didn't know what he'd been doing in the common room and why Finbar had been on the ground, Ron bend over him. He felt a pang of guilt but didn't know why.

_Must find Dumbledore._Was the rant droning on and on in his aching head.

He sharply turned a corner and collided head on into a very furious Draco Malfoy. The blonde sneered and shoved him aggressively away from him "Dammit Potter can't you see where you're going?"

The Gryffindor growled, ready to punch Draco's pretty face when Blaise pushed them apart, his brown hair a complete mess and only clad into his silk boxers. "Damn you two, stop bickering like infants."

Harry noticed the blood shimmering on Draco's bare chest and hands. The stormy eyed youth apparently caught the horrified stare and snarled "I didn't kill anyone Potter. It's Alex', we - he nodded at Blaise - need to get the Headmaster."

The raven haired youth's mind reeled and his stomach tried to crawl up his throat. "A-Alex?"

"Yes, Alex. So could you please leave us be, we kind of are in a hurry?" and with that he turned, Blaise on his heels. He quickly shot after the two Slytherins. To their relief they found the ancient wizard in the next hallway sharing a heated discussion with Snape and McGonagall.

"Sir!" both Harry and Draco yelled in unison.

Harry used the confusion to speak up first "Sir! Gringott's is under attack! Hundreds of huge black creatures , dementors and Death Eaters."

Draco rolled his eyes "Shouldn't you be off to save the day then?" Blaise shot him an irritated look which he coolly returned.

Harry gave the smirking Slytherin a dead stare but ignored him otherwise "I'm not lying, I saw it happening! He's slaughtering them all!" his voice turning to a scream.

"We know Harry." The wizard said hoarsely "We were informed barely 10 minutes ago." He held up an official looking letter. "Help is on its way, but we fear that the greatest harm is done already."

Harry blinked, puzzled. Relieved at one side that he'd been right and shocked that he had been. Also: bam, there it was, it's happened go back to sleep. Snape in meanwhile strode over to Draco and Blaise. "What happened?" he snarled, nodding at Draco's bloody chest.

The stormy eyed Slytherin stiffened and his jaw clenched "Alex. She has gone completely out of her mind. Millecent woke me up, urging me to take a look. She was tearing the skin of her arms and stomach with her bare hands. She kept screaming to 'get him out of her'…"

Snape visibly paled even more. He didn't even look at them anymore when he started sprinting down to the dungeons, Draco hurrying after him. Blaise moved to do the same but was kindly halted by Dumbledore. "You and Mister Potter are coming with me, you two need to inform me of what's going on."

"Tea?" he asked them, pouring a cup for himself. McGonagall had left them to maintain order in the hallways.

Harry and Blaise shook their head, both quite annoyed at the question. This was no time for a tea party!

Dumbledore gazed at them with his piercing blue eyes. "Mister Potter, you start first."

Harry drew a deep breath and narrowed his eyes, trying to recall everything as detailed as possible. "I was sitting in the common room and heard Finbar moaning in pain, Ron helping him up. I don't honestly don't know what happened, but I clearly remembered a vision about Gringotts, the goblins on the losing hand in a battle of onslaught against huge dark creatures, dementors and Death Eaters. Hexes, curses, jinxes and charms were flying everywhere, the injured littered on the ground, in their own blood and that of friends and foes alike…"

"May I ask you a very painful question?" Dumbledore whispered softly after letting Harry's forced explanation sink down.

"Yes…"

"Were you Voldemort?"

Blaise hissed and shifted in his seat.

"No. It was like I was watching from above… my scar hurts nonetheless though…"

"Okay, thank you Harry." He sighed and drained his cup of tea and poured a new one. "Mister Zabini?"

His brown eyes shot up and he cleared his throat. "Well, we were all awake because of the earthquake…"

"Earthquake?" Harry interrupted.

"Let him explain first Harry… please continue mister Zabini." Blaise shot Harry a dirty look and did as requested "Everybody and everything was in complete chaos, first years crying and running around. Draco, as prefect, had gotten up to calm everybody down…"

A mental image of Malfoy nursing first years sprang to Harry's mind and he couldn't help himself and shake his head, unbelievingly. Impossible.

"…I was helping him out and all of a sudden Millecent and Pansy came up to us. Millecent said we should take a look at Alex because she'd appeared to have gone out of her mind. As soon as we could tear Pansy away from Draco, we went to take a look..." Blaise's voice grew quieter and quieter as he continued and they had to strain to hear him "It was horrible. She was drawing blood with her very own nails, screaming and pleading us to 'get him out of her'. Draco tried to calm her down but she pushed him away and yelled that we mustn't come near her. We couldn't find Madame Pomfrey so we came to look for you sir…"

Dumbledore looked genuinely worried. "I see. Thank you, both of you. Why don't you go down to the hospital wing? I'm sure they'll bring your friend down there when they get her calmed down."

The two house rivals patted barefooted down the cold stone corridors, heading for the Hospital wing. Blaise was shivering violently, wearing nothing but his underwear. Harry caught him rubbing his arms and the better in him won from the hate against the house the young man was in. He handed him his nightshirt. "Here, put that on, you're freezing."

Blaise stared at the offer perplexed. At first he wanted to sneer something about Gryffindor infected garments, but the honest look in Harry's green eyes won him over. He grabbed the shirt and pulled it on, still warm from Harry's body heath. "Thanks" he muttered. They headed down some stairs and turned a corner.

Harry couldn't bare the awkward silence "Why are you so scantly dressed anyway?"

Blaise retorted with beautifully controlled mirth: "I sleep in the nude."

Harry swallowed "Right…" and cursed himself when he heard Blaise purring in delight at his discomfort.

At long last they got to Pomfrey's domain, both he and Blaise letting out a relieved sigh when they saw Draco hovering next to a bed, where Alex was being treated. It seemed that Poppy tried to shoo the blonde away, but he didn't even flinch and stubbornly held guard at Alex' bed.

His eyebrows shot up gracefully when he saw Blaise wearing a shirt he'd that hadn't been there before while his archenemy was bare-chested. "Oh c'mon Zabini you can do better then that…"

Blaise snarled but kept Harry's shirt on, still freezing to the bone. "Go drown yourself Malfoy."

Harry didn't catch the little conflict and hurried over to his friend. Madame Pomfrey had mended her wounds within seconds, but hadn't been able heal the haunted look on her face. The raven haired youth didn't even have time to sit down next to her properly, because she'd already flung herself at him, starting to shiver uncontrollably. Harry was shocked at the close contact, but didn't dare to push her away, so he held her carefully. He saw Draco and Blaise looking at him with an utterly perplexed gaze, yet one that didn't held venom at all.

The doors of the hospital swung open and Ron strode in, Hermione and Ginny barely able to follow his strides. Ginny held Finbar's hand, who solemnly tagged behind her. Pomfrey started to make a fuss, but was silenced by professor Lupin who told her that he was the one that send them down there in the first place.

Ron came up next to him and briefly touched Alex' shoulder. "What happened?"

"Nobody knows…" Blaise replied in Harry's place. Ron wrinkled his nose at the Slytherins.

Alex slowly let go of Harry and her cheeks had deepened to a glorious shade of maroon. "Sorry…"

"That's alright…" he swallowed, he wasn't used to things like these, but besides being flattered that she'd been so glad to see him he was unaffected. Secretly glad that he wasn't developing feelings for her, he looked at Ron. "Sorry about running of like that mate…"

"No hard feelings on my side, but you might want to thank Finbar…" Harry arched a questioning eyebrow at that, but Ron merely nodded at the ebony haired young man, quietly munching down a large piece of chocolate, Lupin and the two girls keeping him company. Meanwhile other students seeped in, all having minor bruises from the 'earthquake'.

He said down next to the aforementioned Gryffindor and gazed at him intently. Finbar looked like he'd moved a mountain all by himself. "What… happened?" he asked him quietly. Remus, Hermione and Ginny politely moved away from them, letting them have some privacy.

Finbar swallowed a large bite of chocolate. "Don't be mad at me…" he whispered wearily "I forced myself into your spirit… I…I…" he shifted his gaze to his hands "I transferred your negative emotions over to myself… without your approval…"

"You what…? How?"

"I did it a few months ago with my little brother, Darragh… his favorite unicorn died… a wer-… a…" he coughed and squeezes his eyes shut, forcing the tears back. "It was killed and he saw it happen… he didn't eat anymore. He didn't sleep anymore. He didn't talk anymore. So one night I sneaked into his room and did the same thing as I've done to you about an hour ago…"

Harry put a hand on Finbar's shoulder and forced him to look into his eyes. "Thank you."

"No problem…"

"You know, Hermione was right. It is a gift, not a curse…"

Finbar snorted and muttered a 'We'll see about that'.

Meanwhile Draco and Blaise awkwardly stood at Alex' bed. Draco pulled a chair next to it and sat down. Alex raised her gaze up to him; her eyes blazing green, lushes of blonde hair dangling around her face. She nodded at his chest. "Sorry for that…"

He waved it away. "Care to tell me what happened?"

She looked at him sharply. "Snape said I had a nightmare… I don't remember much."

Draco growled and trailed a finger over his chest and held it up to Alex' nose. Blood ran down, leaving a red trail on his arm. "Sure."

Alex heaved a sigh and looked at her hands. "I told you I'm sorry."

"I wasn't talking about the fact that you ruined my silk pajamas, but about the fact that you bloody nearly killed yourself!" he snarled.

"Dammit, I said I don't remember!"

"Right and I'm married to Potter!"

They glared at each other evilly for a few seconds, sharing a private staring contest, electricity crackling between them. Draco gave up first, cursing the stubborn girl inwardly. "Look, you don't have to tell me nothing, it ain't my business. But you gave us all quite a scare." He said softly, so that no one else heard him but Alex and himself.

She smiled weakly at him and brushed a strand of blonde hair out of his face. "You're okay when you're not acting like a complete asshole…"

"Gee thanks…" he muttered glaring at Alex half-heartedly.

Finbar casually strolled into the Gryffindor common room, he'd been forced to spend the night under Madame Pomfrey's care, he'd protested that he was alright, but she wouldn't have any of it. He really needed a shower. He bumped into Hermione who was on her way to breakfast.

"Finbar! How are you feeling?" she asked him, her pretty brown eyes scanning him.

He shrugged "Okay I guess… my sight is a little messed up though, I ran into a second year hufflepuff on the way up, poor thing…"

She chuckled and patted his arm. "You know what, I'll be waiting here. Go get ready and we'll go to breakfast together."

"Thanks Hermione…" he smiled at her and went up to his room to collect clean robes and his books. He quickly showered, dressed and joined Hermione once again.

"Finbar?" she asked quietly when they padded trough the hallways.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for helping Harry out. He tried to explain what you did last night… that was really brave of you." her face was warmed by a smile; her bushy brown her playfully jumping around her head at every step she took.

"Whatever, I did what everybody else would have done." He pointed out.

She shook her head "Don't believe me then, but just wanted to say I'm grateful."

"Thanks, but I don't deserve the credit."

"Stubborn git…" she murmured fondly under her breath.

"I heard that!"

Blaise rubbed his eyes furiously, the lack of sleep catching up with the adrenaline from last night's events. He'd read in the Daily Prophet this morning about the attack on Gringott's, confirming Potter's explanation in the headmaster's office. There were photos of Death Eaters, dementors and those weird demon-ish creatures, named Shadowborns. Unlike the rest of the Slytherin table, he wasn't thrilled. Not as shocked as the Hufflepuffs or any other house. But certainly not glad. He saw Draco poking his food around his plate absently, his eyes red from rubbing them. Although Draco would rather jump down the Astronomy Tower than admit, he wasn't glad about the slaughter either. Blaise could guess why. He snapped out of his musing when the doors of the Great Hall flew open.

Alex stamped in, pulling some bandages from her arms in the process. She grumpily sat down next to Blaise, a scowl spread over her pretty face. She was beginning to take after Draco. He snickered at the thought. "Good morning…"

She sighed and threw her spoon on the table, spluttering milk all over the blonde prefect whom didn't even flinch, his eyelids slipping shut and dangerously close to falling face-down into his cereals. "Gah… they wanted to keep me there for another two days!" she screeched "Can you believe that? It's not like I've gone fucking mental!"

Blaise coughed and shot her an odd look. "Well… you _were _trying to rip the skin of your bones… but hey, nothing wrong with that…"

"Oh sod off Blaise… I barely remember anything; the first clear memory is that of Snape muttering counter-curses."

Blaise shrugged and stared at Draco whom was dozing off; his head propped up his fist, close to slipping away.

"Say… that earthquake… did you feel it too?" Blaise asked her on a side note.

"Nope… I didn't. I heard about it though. Just some minor tremors right?"

"Minor tremors? I fell down the stairs because of those 'minor' tremors, you can check my battered ass for prove… Anyways, I wonder if the Dark Lord called up that earthquake."

"To what purpose? Shake us awake so we could rush over and kick his pale bony ass?"

Blaise quirked up an eyebrow at her casual response. "Hmmm… dunno…" and jumped up with a curse when Draco's head splashed into his bowl of cereal, milk and cornflakes flying through the air.

Divination passed by painfully slow, Ron slipping rather into a deep sleep than into a trance. He wondered why he'd picked up the subject again anyway and cursed Harry for being smarter and picking extra DADA lessons. He literally sat the course out and lazily packed his bag, while Finbar softly spoke with Firenze. When all students left, Ron moved to stand next to Finbar, hauling his bag over his shoulder.

"Okay, Finbar Ganad, explain your problem." Firenze asked him.

Finbar scanned the room again, making sure nobody could overhear and slowly said "I have problems with visualizing things. It seems like I have a second way to do that, but I can't control it. It's a haze of colors and radiating sensations."

Firenze looked at him interested, nearly fascinated "And can you 'feel' other people?"

"Yes, I can pick up their emotions, I can even guess what their thinking by sensing their feelings if I switch over to second sight. Gives me a pounding headache when I'm around a large crowd of people. Last night I pulled negative emotions out of Harry and transferred it to myself." He brushed a strand of black hair from his face. "When Alex is around I can focus myself better and if she touches me, I nearly have full control over my sight."

Firenze contemplated his words, his hoofs making damped noises on the soft ground of the foresty classroom. "You can see auras."

"Auras?" both Finbar and Ron asked in unison.

"Yes. Auras basically are the life-force and personal energy of every living thing, creature or plant on this planet. You are blessed with a very rare gift." He smiled at him mysteriously "And it's very strong in you, if you're able to mentally heal other people."

"But I can't control it if Alex isn't around…"

"You did so last night, did you not?"

Finbar plucked his goatee while his brow rumpled "Yes, you are right, but that's only when I'm in an extreme situation, but even then it's not guaranteed I can use it properly."

"Let me offer you something; I will try and help you controlling your gift. Let's say on Tuesday evenings? I understand that it falls together with Harry's and Alex' Occlumency lessons."

"Yes. It does." He nodded and smiled "Thank you sir, I appreciate it!"

**Saturday morning. **

The training with Remus had been different that expected; I though a little counter-curses and the usual defensive spells. Wrong, we went jogging, all the way to Hogsmeade… good thing I'd been wearing my trainers and the usual oversized t-shirt. I quite instantly realized I was terribly out of shape. At the train station in the village we finally stopped and I wanted to drape myself against to cool stones. Moony ordered me to do some stretches first, snickering at my affronted face and handed me a bottle of water afterwards. The came a few training exercises such as sit-ups and push-ups, dives and rolls, …

The rest of the morning was spend rather calmly, reviewing some charms, hexes and curses, the usual things we'd been doing in DA-meetings. After that Remus passed on to new, much more complicated ones. Even spells that weren't even taught at school, not because they were illegal, but just too complicated.

We ate lunch together, relaxing into the late summer sun. It was so easy to be around Remus and forget about everything. My mood had dropped to 'from zero to pissed off in 0.4 seconds' after the whole vision thing, I couldn't help myself and kept thinking about Sirius and the Prophesy. _And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives_. Sure, Potter the incredible Dark Lord vanquisher…

Moony had this wonderful personality and I just knew I'd be accidentally calling him 'Moony' or 'Remus' during upcoming lessons.

We spend two more hours rehearsing the new Charm we'd been focusing on and jogged back to Hogwards after I got it right. I headed for the showers straight away after thanking him. He'd told me that after a few more complicated spells we'd be switching to martial arts and eventually even to fencing, if they managed to find a proper martial arts instructor… Fencing would be mentored by none one other than himself and surprise, surprise: Tonks. This might get interesting…

**Quiddich**** Pit. Sunday afternoon. **

The tryouts for the Gryffindor team were a complete chaos, although an organized one. Various participants flew hence and forth, trying out for whatever position they were going for. Harry in meanwhile practiced a little with the same snitch he'd accidentally 'stole' while he and George had beaten Malfoy up. _Ah memories… _involuntarily he remembered Thursday morning and he saw the new glint in Malfoy's eyes when he was guarding Alex' bed. As if he cared… _Malfoy__ caring about something else then his hair and blood-line?__ Impossible! Right?_

After the last Gryffindor had a go (knocking Ginny of her broom with the Quaffle while doing so) Ron and his team leaned in for a team huddle. "So, what have we got?"

"Ginny for Chaser, she's fast and a natural in the air!" Katie said immediately.

"Jup, I thought so too." He said it in a neutral tone, but he was looking exceedingly pleased with the obvious Quiddich talent from his little sister.

"And for second chaser we've got this new girl named Reya Letser, she's second best up to Ginny, although we'll have to get her in shape…" Jack pointed out. Reya was a third year with pretty grey eyes and light brown hair.

Ron and Katie both nodded in agreement. The redhead frowned and said: "I really insist on having Finbar as reserve beater, okay I admit, he was horrible, but I do believe he's got talent. He's just so nervous…"

"Maybe after Firenze's lessons…" Harry added.

"Uh-huh, and for reserve Chaser I'd like to pick Dennis Creevly, he's darn fast, but a little too jumpy and hyper…"

"I think we'd better keep Ginny as reserve Seeker… since I end up in the hospital wing more than once a year…" Harry grinned impishly.

Katie ruffled trough his hair affectionately "That's our Harry."

"Well, that's settled then!" Ron raised himself and spoke up "I want to thank all of you for showing up and giving it a try! I'll announce who'll be given which open spots: for Chaser – Ginny Weasley (Ginny did a little happy dance, Finbar winked at her, giving her a thumbs up) for second Chaser – Reya Letser! For reserve Chaser we've got Dennis Creevly, for reserve Beater Finbar Ganad and finally for reserve Seeker we've once again got Ginny Weasley!"

A lot of disappointed moans and grunts rose from the not aforementioned Gryffindors. "I want to thank you all again for being here! Let's hit the showers!"

Harry thought that Ron was a natural at captaining the Gryffindor team; he'd slid in the position of Team Leader while being a friend, yet demanding respect because of doing so. He was glad he'd chosen to pursue McGonagall. They strolled into the locker room, girls and boys separated, although they did have pep talks before each training or game in the boy's locker room when everyone was decent. Laughter bounced of the walls, everybody pushing each other amiably as a good Quiddich Match always brought up. Harry stripped himself from his shirt and dropped it to the ground, several others headed for the showers. The ravenhead leaned back, enjoying the cool touch of the stone wall against his skin, he was smiling unconsciously; flying still gave him an incredible boost, the hunt for the Snitch each time a new rush of adrenaline.

"Hey Harry, wake up man!" he heard a pleasant deep voice asking him.

He opened his eyes and stared straight into the muscular stomach of a young man towering over him. His eyes traveled up to a just as muscular chest and he noticed a dark tribal tattoo starting at the ribs on the left side, ending in the neck. His black hair was combed back and his morning blue eyes twinkled with amusement. Harry felt a slight twinge in his shorts and shifted uncomfortably. _God what a body._His eyes flew open in bewilderment, shocked out of his mind.

Immediately he saw an equally flustered look on Finbar's face, his jaw open a little and staring at him non-believingly. Harry jumped up and sprinted out of the lockers, leaving Finbar gaping after him, his clothes and equipment forgotten. Still clad in only his Quiddich trousers and boots, he ran over the green grass surrounding Hogwards, trough the Front Gate, up the stairs, in the hallway where he bumped into Dean.

"AAH!" he jumped away from him, hands in the air. Dean reaching out to ask him if he was alright. Harry backing away until he hit a wall, ducked out of Dean's questioning reach, turned a corner and sprinted down yet another hallway, receiving several catcalls from girls because of his bare torso. He ignored them however and sprinted once again up a set of stairs. And, as always, having all the luck of the world, he ran into Malfoy, both knocked back at the force of the impact. Harry's glasses nearly falling to the ground. He quickly tugged them up his nose and saw the stormy grey eyes flash evilly at him, a lock of blonde hair dangling in his face. He was wearing a sleeveless turtleneck, showing off his slightly muscular arms. Harry promptly shut his eyes. _It was just a mind lapse, I am not gay… I can't be gay. I'm Harry Potter the-boy-who-lived, the unlucky bastard from the prophesy and I am not gay. _

He slowly crooked open one eye and saw Malfoy giving him the-what-the-hell-look.

"Are you doing this on purpose Potter?" he sneered, picking himself up and gracefully brushed the lock of hair out of his face, leaving Harry sitting on the ground when he didn't reply. He heard Malfoy's footsteps turn a corner. Harry rested his head in hands. _This can't be happening. Oh bloody Merlin. _He realized how stupid he must have looked, running trough Hogwards half-naked.

_Okay. Relax. Breath in, breath out. Nothing is wrong, I'm just tired. _

He shakily stood up and headed for the Gryffindor Tower. He flopped down unto the couch and covered his eyes with his hands. _Okay, right, recapitulate: I see Finbar getting dressed, I feel… I feel… Oh c'mon Harry, if can't do this you certainly can't deal with Voldemort. Okay? Okay! Once again; I see Finbar getting dressed, I feel a-a-attracted. Ahem! Now what? Several options available: option one: commit suicide by getting run over by a herd of sheep. Hum… sheep not scary enough... get run over by a herd of skrewts. Good one. Option two: admit I'm having trouble accepting my new found sexuality. Option tree: ignore everybody and everything by locking myself away in Moaning Myrtle's toilet… _

_And the winner is… _

"Harry!"

_I Voldemort still plans to kill me, please let it be now…_

"Harry? Mate what's gotten into you?" Ron came up to him, sitting down next to him. The green eyed Gryffindor scooted over to far other hand of the couch, eying him wearily.

"Mate? Something wrong? You even left your Firebolt down in the locker-room…"

He gave him a horrible failing innocent look "I just… I dunno. I was confused, but I'm fine now jes' peachy."

He got up to their bedroom, wanting to change himself, but just as he was naked save for his boxers and struggling with his pants when Ron opened the door and casually threw himself on the raven head's bed, starting to chat enthusiastically about the training. It took him a while to realize that Harry was awkwardly covering himself with his yeans like a first year Hufflepuff girl.

"What's going on?" he demanded. Ron Weasley wasn't stupid, although he'd like to pass himself of a little naïve. Okay, sometimes he wasn't like, you know, focused, but right now he'd swear he was willing to drop dead this instant if he was wrong. Harry Potter, his long-time friend was hiding something from him.

"Harry?" another voice queried.

_Thank heavens Finbar's here to save the day. Oh wait, nope, this not good. He's giving me that creepy-I-can-read-your-mind-look… he knows! Oh dear Merlin he knows! _If Harry could he'd cream 'The scream' from Münch. But not right now. Getting dressed was his first goal, he didn't respond to Finbar and hastily changed into a comfy old, rather baggy yeans and a sleeveless t-shirt.

"Well… I'll see you guys later… I uh… Got to study…" he stepped out of the room sideways and ran for safety. After once again running trough the whole labyrinth that was Hogwards he ended up outside finding exactly the person who he needed. But she's got company.

"Alex!" he called out to the blonde who was studying Charm notes from Hermione, Zabini and Malfoy perched in the grass next to her.

He kept a safe distance, not wanting to get to close to other… guys. Alex gave him a curious grin and padded over.

"Yes?"

"Kiss me!"

"Eh? Excuse me? Could you repeat that cause I don't think I"

"I asked you to kiss me." He touted his lips and closed his eyes. He felt her coming nearer and her soft lips pecked him on his right cheek.

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Nono, a reaaaal kiss."

She snorted and crossed her arms. "I'm not going to French kiss you!"

"But it's really important…?" he muttered trough clenched teeth.

"I think you need to get laid man, you're really creeping me out…"

He rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air "Slytherins!"

She poked his chest "You're the one asking me to kiss you, Harriekins, not me. You."

He waved her away and snorted at the two male Slytherins who apparently thought he'd finally gone mental. "What?" he sneered. He directed himself to Alex again and whispered as softly as he could "I need to find out whether or not I'm attracted to you."

"Sure, I bet that happens all day… what do you want me to do? Flash my boobs?"

"If you please?"

"Oh get lost!" she smacked him playfully at the back of his head, thinking he was joking. She returned to the other two chuckling amused.

_Okay, on to plan B. Current progress of plan B is still to find out what plan B will be… now this is getting confusing… _

**Half an hour later.**** Library.**

There was a nearly inaudible thud as the infamous Harry Potter let his head smack against the tabletop, the quill tinkling in the ink pot. He rubbed his forehead and tried to read the sentence he'd been working on for the past 15 minutes again. He wondered what book he'd been trying to read for the past half an hour. He turned it and looked at the cover.

'Magical Marriages' by Rosie Cuddlins.

_Good Merlin… that's it. This is not happing, it is a friction of my imagination and I've completely gone insane. And tomorrow morning I'll wake up at St. Mungo's and they'll tell me that I've fallen of my broom and hit my head. _

"Hi Harry…"

_Eep_

Finbar sat down opposite of him, a sly grin spread over his face. Harry didn't look at the rakishly handsome youth and just wished he'd turn into ant or a fly so he could squash himself with the Daily Prophet.

"You think I'm attractive." It was more of a statement then a question.

Harry didn't react while blushed slightly.

"You think I'm attractive as in sexually attractive." I could hear Finbar's smile soaked into this one. He paused dramatically and stated, a little too loud in Harry's opinion. "You're gay."

"Hush!" Harry glared, hoping to wipe the grin of his face "I'm not _gay_… I'm bisexual."

He crossed his arms and plucked his goatee. His hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. "The look on your face was priceless…"

"You felt me."

"Damn straight I did, most disturbing thing I've ever gone trough." He tried to sound affronted, but Harry could see the reassuring look his blue eyes. "Hey, it's okay… nothing with being bisexual…"

"Ssshht!"

"What? Bisexual! Bisexualbisexualbisexual…"

"Keep it down!" he hissed at him.

Finbar shrugged. "How did you found out you were bisexual." He pronounced the word 'bisexuel' all too clearly.

"Well quite easily. You imagine a girl. Preferably naked and then you go from then. Is there no physical reaction, you're gay. Is there; you're probably bisexual."

"Hmmm… I guess. Don't jump to conclusions though."

Harry nodded and muttered "I fear the being attracted to you was quite clearly…"

"Damn straight," he snickered "I thought you were gonna hump me…"

"Can we drop that? It's not like I'm in love with you or something."

"Fair enough, because I'd hate to break your heart." He sighed dramatically and batted his eyes. He smiled at Harry's tired expression and felt a little sorry for teasing him. He rose from his seat, leaned over the table and patted him on the back "C'mon, let's go back…"


	9. Bad Hair Days

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ** **Wihstrum**

**Chapter nine: Bad Hair Days**

Harry leaned casually back in his place. His eyes wandered the Great Hall, observing each person his eyes drifted over carefully. He saw Ron and his violently red hair, his best friend for about 6 years now. He wondered how their friendship would change if he knew. The rational voice in his head assured him that it was Ron and although he might not be very subtle about the matter, he would accept Harry how he was. But in the back of his mind a voice screamed no. What if he'd reject him? _No, can't think like that, must have faith in our friendship_.

Next his gaze moved to Hermione. The best friend a guy could wish. He knew she'd understand. It was their Hermione and she'd be there for him; she'd be there for him to mend the pieces if he got hurt. A warm feeling spread through his stomach. The intensity of their friendship making his head light, he realized that he'd never, ever let any harm come to them. They'd have to kill him first before he'd be able to get to them.

His throat went dry when Finbar leaned over to him. He still hadn't gotten over the locker-room incident, although the Gryffindor had assured him that it was alright. Finbar ignored his blush wisely and asked him silently "Are you going to tell them?"

Harry knew he'd picked up his emotions "Yes… but I think I'll tell Hermione first. After that Ron, I'm not sure how he'll react though…"

"Don't worry, if he's a real friend, he'll be there for you."

"I know, I know, …" he sighed tiredly "only a week's gone by and it feels like my whole life is upside down…"

Finbar nodded understandingly.

Draco Malfoy strolled into Transfiguration with all the superiority he could muster despite having had a marginal amount of sleep this night. He'd kept turning and twisting, always hovering on the edge of sleep and dreams.

"You're late Mister Malfoy!" McGonagall barked at him "That's five points from Slytherin!"

He raised his chin up in the air and ignored her. _Stupid Hag. _His icy gaze looked for an empty spot, he grunted deep in his throat when he saw only one left next to Alex. Irritated beyond words he slid down next to the pretty girl and ignored her 'Good morning Drakie-poo.'-ing him. She knew it got on his nerves, so naturally, being herself, she kept it up.

McGonagall informed them that they'd be starting the more complicated transfigurations; changing animals into other animals. Draco was relieved, because he was the endless droning on and on about the theory on that particular subject tired.

"You can come over here, pick out a duck and try changing it into a raven. If you're having trouble, please review the theory we've been going over last week…"

Ducks… Draco rolled his eyes and looked at the quacking bird on his table. He concentrated hard. Duck. Raven. Change duck into a raven… he muttered the spell but to no avail. Oh wait, if he looked closely enough the feathers were slightly darker.

He paused after a few attempts and sighed, scratching the back of his neck.

The blonde Slytherin heard Alex' duck next to him quacking affronted and he looked over to her. She was staring at the bird intently, not even blinking. He gasped when he saw it changing before his eyes. The plumpy body to a slender build, the darkening of the feathers … and barely ten seconds later it was a raven. And then it struck him. Where was her wand? His eyes drifted up to the untidy bun of unruly white hair, her wand thrust trough it. She looked at him, a wolfish grin on her face.

"There!" she exclaimed, looking incredibly proud of herself "What? Stop staring at me. Draco?" she waved her hand in front of his face.

"…How?" he pointed at the black bird on her table "You didn't use your wand…"

"Oh shit! I forgot! Does she take points for that?" she held her hand over her mouth, her green eyes wide.

Draco scooted over and leaned close to her, his whisper urgent. "Can you change it back?"

Alex gave him an odd look and shrugged, and directed herself back at the black bird perched upon the table. Draco couldn't help himself, his jaw dropping as it once again turned into a duck. Very carefully he reached out and his fingertips brushed the feathers. "Holy shit."

"Cool eh?"

"Alex, don't you get it? Nobody can do what you did! Everybody needs their wands." He pointed at the rest of the class, all muttering charms and swishing their wands. Blaise, of course, had the best result so far; his duck was ink black. Alex in meanwhile gave him a perplexed look. "I didn't know… is… Is it bad?"

"No, the ability to use wandless magic naturally is just awfully rare…"

Their silent conversation was broken up when McGonagall towered over them, and her thin lips pulled into a displeased line. "Care to share your little conversation with the whole class?"

Alex swallowed and glanced at Draco, who shrugged helplessly. "Professor, I-eh… have a little problem."

"Yes you have, that's once again 5 points from Slytherin!"

"That's not fair! I didn't do it on purpose! It just happened!" she raised her voice, her green eyes flashing. She moved to raise herself, but Draco quickly grabbed the back of her blouse and kept her at bay.

"You and mister Malfoy didn't have a nice little conversation on purpose? That sounds a little odd doesn't it?"

Alex her lips formed a little 'o', understanding where McGonagall was getting at. "Professor, that's not what I meant… look." Her eyes focused and the duck became a raven, emphasizing it by holding her hands up in the air, palms up.

'OOoh'-s and 'Aaah'-s floated from the other students who'd been following the little scene and even McGonagall seemed at loss for words. She looked at the young girl intently, the look on her face stern and reproachful. "Can you do the reverse transfiguration?"

She turned the raven back into a duck, the bird seemed to get a little tired of the being switched between different bodies and waggled to the far end of the bench, hopped down and went hiding under a table.

McGonagall nodded. "I don't know what to say Miss Ladon."

"Neither do I…" her voice turned silent, so only McGonagall could hear. "I didn't even know I was supposed to use my wand…"

McGonagall turned and raised her voice "Okay, show's over! Get back to work!" and over her shoulder she muttered "It's okay, you didn't mean any harm… five points to Slytherin as an apology…" It seemed that McGonagall had to muster a great deal of willpower to say it.

**Lunch time.**** Great Hall. **

Ginny elbowed Finbar next to her, laughing slightly "Man you really need to shave yourself…"

Finbar didn't laugh at all. He turned a sickening shade of grey. He briefly touched his hairy cheek, but while doing so his sleeve fell down his arm, revealing an equal hairy arm and hand. Swiftly he tucked his hands under table, a little glad that nobody had seen. He could hit himself over the head. _How could I forget? _

"Guys?" his voice was a crooked whisper. Hermione looked up from her Charms book. "Can you tell the others that they don't have to look for me? I forgot to do something…" before Hermione could even respond, he'd already run off.

Hermione's famous intuition kicked in. Finbar tried hard to shield his emotions, but his eyes did all the talking. Ron bowed his head to her "What's with him?"

She narrowed her eyes and eyed the door the ebony haired youth had passed trough a minute ago "I don't really know… yet. Give me some time."

Ron smiled, that's his 'Mione. She dug back into her book and Ron looked at the cute rumple in her forehead, which always popped up when she did so. Her curly brown hair fell down just perfectly around her face… he wondered how it would feel. The redhead had been chewing on one thought since they'd gotten to Hogwards; The Winter Ball. He desperately wanted to ask her out, certainly after their quarrel in 4th grade. He wondered how he'd ask. Casually over dinner? Take her apart and gaze into her eyes? Force Harry into asking for him? Send a note in class?

His mind barely registered Alex sitting down on Finbar's empty spot. She looked uneasy and her cheeks were a little pale. Harry whom had been sharing a conversation with Neville looked over at her. "Hey Alex."

"Hi guys... I don't think I should stay long, since I'm receiving death stares from your precious housmates… but uhmn look at this…" she pulled the glass of pumpkin juice out of Harry's hand and handed over her wand to Hermione, who took it puzzled.

She closed her eyes and her face relaxed. The fluids made a crackling noise as the entire glass froze, frost covering the outside. She promptly turned it over and a cube of orangey ice plopped upon the table.

"…..Wicked…." Ron breathed.

"Your wand!" Hermione shrieked, looking at it as if it would jump up and bite her nose.

Harry pushed the cube over the edge of the table where it shattered in a thousand pieces. "Bloody Merlin."

"Exactly my thoughts…" she frowned. "Drake told me that it was rather…rare… this whole wandless magic thing…"

"Drake?" Ron coughed; choking on his potatoes.

"Eh, Draco, sorry…Anyways, McGonagall didn't seem pleased." She held her head, hiding her eyes. "What's happening…?"

Hermione reached out and clasped her hand. "You're gifted, nothing more."

"Thanks 'Mione… although I sincerely doubt that…" she shyly smiled at her and added "I wanted to ask if you wanted to help me out this eve; I'm stuck on Charms…"

"Yes, sure! Library at six?"

"Okay, thanks." She shot a forced smile at her friends and left them.

"Drake?" Ron repeated "She's being corrupted by that prat, I just feel it…"

"Oh c'mon Ron, be glad, she has to get on with him for another 2 years…" She flipped a page and muttered more softly "It's not like I encourage the fact that they get along… but have you considered the fact that it might be Alex having an influence on him and not the other way around…"

The redhead snorted. "Right and the next thing we know he'll propose to Harry."

The Gryffindor made a gagging noise and shuddered in disgust. "Ron please, I'm intending to keep my breakfast in my stomach, not on the table…"

"See? And besides Hermione, he called you an m-m-… you know what. Why would we care anyway?"

"That's exactly why! Don't you guys see? That's what he always does when he can't compete with someone on an emotional level."

"And you're so sure of that _because_?" Ron scoffed at her.

"Didn't you see his face Thursday morning? He was worried! I don't know about you guys, but something's different about him…"

Harry directed his gaze to the other side of the hall. He'd noticed Malfoy distancing himself from Crabbe and Goyle for some unknown reason. He could be seen hanging around with that Zabini character. The brown haired Slytherin on his part seemed to like Alex. He couldn't quite figure out if it meant good news or bad. He wondered what it would be like… actually being friends with Malfoy.

That evening Harry sorted out his trunk, he was alone, Ron downstairs probably beating Seamus in a game of Wizard Chess. Hermione of to the library with Alex and Finbar still missing…

He threw his clothes on his bed, needing to fold them later on. Next he picked out his grooming kit for his Firebolt, maybe he'd clean the broom up after this.

He dug in and his hands grabbed the next item, a comb. The same one from that night with Alex, a soft smile adored his lips. He placed it aside with ridiculous carefulness.

Next came the miniature Hungarian Horntail. It hissed and swiped its tail; Harry snickered and put it down. Actually it was kind off a pretty creature.

He kept emptying his truck until he suddenly felt a sharp sting in the palm of his hand. He pulled back and suckled on the small cut in his hand, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. _What was that?_ He peered into the trunk and saw something flicker; he automatically reached out for it. Harry felt a sudden wave of nausea overtake him as he recognized it. It was a shard of the mirror Sirius had given him. He sat back and waited for the violent reaction of his body to go away. He held his breath as he more carefully this time collected all the shards. He muttered a reparo spell and saw the shards connect and shape themselves back to their original state. The mirror felt cool and lithe in his hand, reflecting the light from the candles. Suddenly his reflection smiled up at him. A brief moment the image in the mirror was Sirius'. Harry's mind reeled. "S-Sirius?" but it was already gone.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he jumped at the contact, his heart leaped when he looked into a familiar face.

And was stamped back when he saw that it was Finbar. Not Sirius. He was seething at himself! He'd mistaken Finbar for his Godfather.

"Why are you so sad?" the latter asked, his blue eyes worried, drinking his emotions.

"H-how long were you in here?" his voice quivered.

"I heard you say 'Sirius' when I opened the door. You seemed, eh, horrified."

His heart skipped a beat. The reflection in the mirror hadn't been Finbar's! He looked at the magical item in his palm. He held it up to his face and shifted it in some positions, letting the light bounce of it, but the reflection remained his. He sighed and put the mirror next to him. He felt empty… so, so empty.

He heard Finbar sitting down on his bed, closely followed by the sound of shoes getting kicked off, then by the rest of his clothes. Harry made sure the other was dressed before looking at him. Finbar was lying down on his bed, his head supported on his arms, the black hair an untidy mess. He was only wearing his linen trousers he slept in. The mental image of Finbar's bare torso last Sunday drifted to his mind, he quickly stamped the other feeling accompanying that memory. He noticed that, well, frankly Finbar was twice as hairy as he'd been yesterday. _That's impossible… right?_ His chest had been hair-less and right now a bush of back curls covered it. Finbar's face was pale, he looked sick.

"You okay?"

Finbar pulled a lidded eye open. "Yeah, just a rough day…" he gave him a crooked smile.

Harry stared at him for a while, not knowing what to say. "That… tattoo." He pointed "Awesome."

"Thanks, got if for my coming of age."

"You're seventeen?"

"Yeah, I had to double this year. Don't mind though."

"Why did you have to double?"

Finbar propped himself up his elbows. "Eh… don't really know."

Harry just knew he was lying, but he decided to leave him be. He wanted to talk to the dark youth, it didn't matter about what; he just needed to get his mind of the darn mirror. The refection of his departed Godfather had upset him, but he suspected that it had been a mind lapse, just wanting to see Sirius so badly he'd imagined it.

"Say, Finbar. That night at the hospital wing… you said something about a unicorn…"

A mortified look spread over Finbar's face and his jaw clenched.

"You… had unicorns at your place?" he continued carefully, he didn't want to scare him of. He let out a breath when he saw Finbar's face soften again.

"Yeah, my dad is a unicorn herder." He smiled warmly at the thought of his parents. "Magnificent creatures..."

"I've only seen them during Care of Magical Creatures…" he took great care in not spilling the memory about the dead one in the forest…

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while Harry was packing his trunk, placing the mirror, the comb and the miniature dragon on his nightstand.

"Oy Finbar…" he heard a mumble followed by a snore. Harry snickered and tiptoed over to his friend, whom had drifted of to sleep. As he leaned over the bed, Finbar roared another loud snore. "Yeah good night to you to…" He climbed into his own bed, pulled the curtains shut and waited for sleep to come.

**2 a.m.**** Slytherin dungeon.**

Draco Malfoy tossed and turned. Once again sleep wouldn't come; he'd been suffering from it since that one day in the summer vacation. He moaned and sat up, maybe if he'd go down for a while, read a book and try again. He got up groggily and headed for the common room. Slumping down in a large leather couch he closed his eyes, letting his head fall back.

"Morning Drakie-poo…"

He raised his head and looked into a pair of blazing green eyes, their surreal glint present. "What are you doing down here?"

"Sleeping, as I've been doing since that wonderful incident Thursday morning."

Draco saw she'd taken her blankets with her, wrapped tightly around, her hair a complete mess. "You should braid your hair when you go to sleep…"

"I can't braid… the only time I had a braid, was because Harry made it…"

"Potter? You two sleeping together?"

"No, because of circumstances we ended up in one room together and he braided my hair." she said carefully. This was a no touchy-subject.

"Gah, Potter has no finesse for something like that!" he folded his arms.

"Whatever Drakie-poo…"

Draco glared as menacing a she could at her, but noticed that although she looked like she'd been run-over by the Hogwards Express, he had to admit that she was strangely beautiful… she looked… Dare he say? She looked like an angel.

"Why thank you."

Draco's head snapped up "Thank you what?"

"Saying I'm pretty." She wagged her eyebrows and stalked over to him, plopping down next to him "Saying that I look like an angel…" she fluttered her eyelashes in a perfect imitation of Pansy.

"I didn't say that!" he protested.

"Yes you did!" Alex frowned and poked him in the ribs "10 seconds ago, loud and clear."

"You can read my mind…"

"Don't be ridiculous…"

"You can read my mind!"

"Oh c'mon…"

"Okay pinky swear you can't…'

"Oh Merlin, the Great Draco Malfoy pinky swears…"

"Shut up and pinky swear me!"

They interlocked their pinkies and shook.

"There! Happy now?"

"Yup…" he looked at her trough hooded eyes and had an incredible smug look on his face. Slowly he formed next thought into his mind: _Wanna__ fuck like rabbits?_

Immediately he was slapped over the back of his head, Alex towering over him, hand ready to deliver another powerful one into his face. "Pervert!"

"AH! You can read my mind!" he stood up, surpassing her easily in length looking at her wide-eyed. They stared at one other for a while and the blonde Slytherin noticed the completely shocked surprise on Alex' face.

"Ow… you didn't have to hit me that hard, I was just kidding…" he snickered, rubbing the back of his head.

"Serves you right, dammit." But she grinned at him while saying so. "I didn't know I could do that… it sounded like you spoke out loud…"

They sat back down, face to face, Alex crossing her legs. "Okay, Okay, think something."

"Like what?"

"A number or something…"

_Eeeeh__…. Number…. Ehm 56. _

"56!" she repeated victoriously.

"Holy cow… okay another one…"

_1009647_

"1009647!"

"Man this is creepy… you got them both right…" a wide grin settled on his face. "Imagine the possibilities…"

"I thought you'd be mad."

"You know, the only thing I'm worried about is that you could read my mind without me having a choice in it…" he muttered, a displeased smirk on his face.

Alex wiggled her nose and played with a strand of her hair. "Maybe we should look it up in the library… I wouldn't want to know what you're thinking all day long… sick bastard."

Draco grinned. "Wench."

"Blondie…"

"You're blonde as well!" he snarled affronted.

"No my hair is white. Anyway, I wonder if we're able to do the reverse thing as well…" she closed her eyes and thought a number.

"No… nothing." He responded.

"Ah" implored Alex, tapping her chin "Hmmm, wait I got an idea." She reached out for his hand.

Draco sidled away from her and flinched at the close contact. "Oh don't be such a wuss, give me your hand…" she scowled.

He glared at her but did as told. Alex thought a number once again. _11!_

"Eleven!" he grinned, while he pulled his eyebrows up. They slowly closed their eyes and tried to make a mental contact.

_Alex: Can you hear me?_

_Draco__: Loud and clear! _

_Alex: Man this is odd… it sounds hollow in your head. Might wanna watch the amount of gell you put on…_

_Draco__: Shut up! _

_Alex: Blondie…_

_Draco__: Are you gonna bug me like this too? _He opened his eyes and stared affronted into her face. Actually, secretly he found this… amusing, although he wasn't too keen on the hand-holding thing.

_Alex: You bet ya I am! Imagine what we could do on tests! _She grinned at him wolfishly.

_Draco__: Yeah right, like you're the genius of us two! _He thought, rolling his eyes.

_Alex: At least I'm not blonde. _She smirked and stuck out her tongue.

_Draco__: Knock it off! _Draco's perfect brow furrowed in annoyance.

_Alex: Nor a Narcist , nor a wanker, nor a sexually frustrated git, nor_

_Draco__: I'm not sexually frustrated!_

_Alex: Oh c'mon! Fuck like rabbits? _

_Draco__: I'm a healthy young man, in the blossom of his life. You got a problem with that?_

_Alex: Wanna bet 5 galleons you're as gay as it gets?_

_Draco__: you and your betting metal equivalent of rolling eyes… Oh wait, back up! Gay? Who says I'm gay? I didn't say I'm gay. _

_Alex: The hair blondie, it's all about the hair… _

_Draco__: Nothing wrong with being refined. _He touched his hair protectively.

_Alex: snort Yeah sure. Anyway, try letting go… _

The stormy eyed youth let go, a little relieved. _Draco__: Still there?_

_Alex: Yeah, but not as clear as a moment ago._

_Draco__: Maybe if we keep practicing this, we'll get better at it._

_Alex: You wanna keep this up? _Her mental voice was pleasantly surprised.

_Draco__: …Yeah._

_Alex: Ah! Give it up, you like me!_

_Draco__: I don't like you. I can tolerate you. _

Alex snickered out loud and smiled at him.

**Thursday morning. **

Hermione caught up with Harry and Ron in the corridor to the Great Hall, falling into a same pace besides them. She glanced sideways at their faces. Both had a gaunt expression. "What's the matter…?"

"Finbar didn't come back yesterday evening. We checked his bed and we're sure nobody has slept in it tonight." Harry explained, his face worried.

"And he hasn't been himself last few days." Ron sighed "He looked sick, he didn't eat, sleep and he distanced himself from us…"

Hermione frowned and bit her bottom lip. Then the proverbial light bulb seemed to go on. She stopped in her tracks, mouth agape.

Both Gryffindors turned and looked at her quizzically. "Ron! Harry! Defense Against the Dark Arts!" she stamped her foot "How come I didn't notice it earlier…? …I must be out of practice."

"Hold on, Mione, what exactly has DADA got to do with Finbar being gone?" Ron pointed out.

Harry brought his hand up his mouth. "The hair!"

"What hair? Hello? Could someone fill me in here?"

Hermione and Harry both looked at each other and stated in unison. "Moony!"

"Okay that's it; you've both lost me…"

"Ron… hello? Don't you get it? Professor Lupin – Finbar… Lupin – Finbar…Lupin-Finbar…" she said in an awfully friendly tone, as directing herself to a child.

Ron goldfished.

"Gets a bit hairier than normal once a month, looking ill and exhausted, Remus' been gone since Tuesday, Finbar since last night" Harry provided him. "No? Merlin helps us Ron, it was a full moon this night!"

They could literally hear all the screws and wheels turns in Ron's head. "Are you saying that he's a werewolf?"

"Bingo! Good boy Ron. Now that wasn't hard, was it?"

Ron shot his bushy friend an irritated look. Meanwhile they strolled into the great hall, heading for their table. Once they sat down, they leaned in conspiracy-like. "Why didn't he just say so?" Ron muttered; a little pained at Finbar's distrust.

"He told us he's had some 'problems' at Durmstrang… I bet he's been kicked out for being lycanthropic…" Hermione pointed out.

"Uh-huh, they don't accept 'half'-bloods at Durmstrang. Meaning he's only got bitten not so long ago…" Harry added. It made perfect sense.

"Poor guy…" the redhead said empathic. "Are we gonna tell him we know?"

Hermione frowned. "Don't really know, I think we should wait until he tells us himself..."

**Friday Morning. Potions. Gryffindor and Slytherin.**

Snape was in a particular foul mood today. Merely 10 minutes had passed and Gryffindor had lost over 20 house points; for breathing too loudly, coughing on purpose and just the fact that they were there in the first place.

Harry added some onions to the potion he and Ron had been brewing, his stomach lurched at the stench coming from the substance and vaguely wondered why it wasn't blue, but orange… _oh crap… _

Snape batted around the class shooting snipe comments at the Gryffindors. Eventually he stopped at their table and shook his head gleefully "Seems like once again managed to screw this potion up Mister Potter and we barely started 2 minutes ago! That's it; I'm not planning on wasting any more precious supplies on your dreadful potion-skills for the rest of the year…" he growled and added "Therefore, Weasely next to Ladon."

Ron pretended to be chagrined, but failed nonetheless as Alex tried to do the same. Eventually they ended up grinning madly at each other as Ron dropped his bag and plonked down next to her.

"And Potter… why don't you go sit next to Mister Malfoy…"

Harry bashed his forehead against his potions book and moaned. Malfoy… off all people. He gathered his stuff and dropped them unceremoniously next to Malfoy who kept glaring at him as if he were the reason Christmas was cancelled.

Snape shot one last menacing glare at Harry, whom slowly gathered the supplies needed for the potion. He had to keep himself from throwing them at Malfoy's nasty scowl.

"Better do as I say Potter, you're gonna regret it if you fuck it up…" he hissed at him.

"Rot in hell Malfoy…" he replied as he jotted down the correct ingredients this time.

"Don't understand how you managed to mess it up anyway; most of us weren't even started yet! I was still shredding the mint leaves when you already messed up yours…" he drawled.

Harry's jaw clenched and he muttered: "Can't we just try and get on with this, the longer we argue, the longer it takes. And I for one don't plan on spending more time than necessary with you."

Draco glared, but nodded slowly, meanwhile started to prepare the Salamander toes. He felt a careful 'knock' in his mind; Alex tried to make a mental link. They'd gotten better over it past few days, mostly arguing during lessons, but he actually enjoyed talking to her. She'd found a solution considering the fact that she would be able to overhear him all the time. Draco had been relieved at being able to block her out when he needed to. A smile crept up his face as he responded to her.

_Alex: Having a good time there blondie? Be nice to Harry, you know I'm kinda fond of him. Wouldn't want_ _kick your ass after class._

_Draco__: Oh shut up wench… _

Harry glanced sideways at Malfoy who had a weird look on his face. Sometimes he snickered softly, or his eyebrows would shoot up, he even snorted all of a sudden. _See there he went again._

"Hey Malfoy… hearing voices?" he queried with a sly grin.

Draco brutally snapped out of his mental conversation and saw Potter looking at him as if he'd grown two heads. "What?"

"I asked if you were hearing voices…"

"No Potter, I'm not hearing any" _Alex: Actually, you are. _

Suddenly he turned around and snorted at Alex who was barely able to keep herself from laughing out loud.

Harry looked from Malfoy to Alex and back. What was going on here?

Draco tried to block out the mental equivalent of snickering coming from Alex so he could concentrate once more on his potion. He commanded Potter to crush the Chickweed while he stirred the thick mixture.

The potion they were brewing was used when one wanted to fall into a deep trance and was often used in divination; therefore the damp clouding out of it lulled Draco into a daydream.

He was looking at Potter's hair with a sort of detached half-interest. It reminded him of the raven Alex had transfigurated earlier this week. It had the same shimmering quality to it and was as deep black. He wondered whether or not it felt just as soft and silky… he reached out.

Harry violently stumped the Chickweed to powder. Stupid Malfoy. Insufferable git…

He felt a soft brush trough his hair, with a jerk he looked up… and saw Malfoy stroking his hair. The Gryffindor jumped up, throwing over the bowl with chickweed. "What are you doing?"

Draco snapped out of his trance he looked at Potter perplexed. "You're not a bird!"

"Damn straight I'm not a bird! It's not like I said Harry wants a cracker!"

"Mister Potter, what exactly seems to be the problem?" Snape snarled.

"Malfoy petted me!" he pointed at the blonde.

"I didn't pet you Potter! I was in a trance! I thought you were a bird!"

"Do I look like a bird?"

"You have the same stupid look on your face!"

"You were stroking my hair!" Harry screeched again, utterly shocked.

"That's enough, both of you! Sunday evening detention; Malfoy because you couldn't imagine Potter as something more ridiculous and Potter because… because I just can!"

Harry's mouth fell open at the distinct unfairness with which he received detention. He gave Malfoy a prompt swat over the head when Snape turned his back on them "Idiot!"

Draco hissed and pointed at the cauldron "It isn't my fault! It was the potion's fault!"

"It isn't my fault! It was the potion's fault!" Harry echoed in a girlish falsetto.


	10. Disturbing Thoughts

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ** **Wihstrum**

**Chapter ten: Disturbing Thoughts **

Detention with Snape. That basically meant cleaning cauldrons without magic. That was bad. But do you know when it gets really bad? If you serve it with your archenemy. Alone.

"This is all your fault, you know," Harry stated, with his head down inside the cauldron he was scrubbing, voice echoing.

"_My_ fault?" Draco snarled, flinging his rag down in irritation. "How is this _my_ fault?"

"You petted me!" Harry replied sharply.

"For Merlin's sake Potter I didn't pet you!" he growled in frustration "Even if I did, get over it!"

"Sorry, it's just a little hard to comprehend if your archenemy - whom by the way delivered a death threat barely three months ago - is stroking your hair! Does that make sense?"

Draco winced and started to scrub a particularly stubborn stain in the cauldron. "You took that too serious…"

"Oh I'm sorry but _You're__ dead Potter _sounds a little serious to me!"

For once, the Great Draco Malfoy didn't know what to say. So he blurted the first thing that came to his mind "You're just touchy…" _Great Malfoy, simply brilliant._

"Touchy?" Harry screeched "Touchy? Dammit Malfoy, your daddy wants my head on a silver platter to get in Voldemorts good graces and you're saying I'm touchy?" his breath hitched and he didn't realized he'd stood up in the progress "Or are you implying you didn't mean it? Six fucking years of taunting me, but you didn't mean it?"

Draco sighed and didn't respond. _Stupid Potter.__ Stupid Cauldron. Stupid Detention. Stupid life. Stupid last name._

"Well?"

"Shut up Potter." He repeated mutely.

And shockingly enough, Harry did, remembering what said Hermione last Monday. Deep down he knew Malfoy only picked fights with him because he was scared… it was an instinctive reaction for him.

Both of them stubbornly scrubbed their cauldrons. At long last Harry spoke up "What kind of bird did you think I was?"

"Eh?" Draco peered over the edge of his cauldron.

"You heard me…"

"An ostrich…" the Slytherin declared gleefully.

"Oh hilarious Malfoy, simply hilarious…" but he couldn't help a small smile curling around his lips. God was he glad he'd got his head in this foul-smelling cauldron. Okay not glad, but you know.

He heard the snickering echoing in Malfoy's cauldron, then a little quieter he added "A raven."

"I'm touched Malfoy, did you know that ravens are the smarter kind of bird?"

"Trust me Potter it had anything but to do with your intellect… it was because of your hair."

Harry sat up straight and arched his back, hearing it crackle from sitting bend over. He ran his hand trough his hair causing the black strands to stand up even more haphazardly than usual. "Guess that makes sense…"

"Yes it does Potter, it does…" he said mysteriously.

.  
.  
.

"Malfoy."

"That happens to be my name yes."

"How long have we been scrubbing these darn cauldrons?"

"An hour and half… we're not even halfway yet."

"Interesting…"

"What?"

"You and me being in one room, no bloodshed nor nasty insults…"

"Dear Merlin… We're losing our touch… But if you'd like, I can come up with an appropriate insult in no time…"

"Nah… don't feel like fighting…"

"Neither do I, but eh, let's just act like we did tomorrow." He arched a pale eyebrow "I for one have a reputation to maintain…"

**Monday Morning. Charms. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.**

Harry suckled on the end of his sugar quill as he vaguely caught snatches from the explanation Flitwick gave them about the new spell. He hadn't had enough sleep this night; the detention had lasted over midnight. And although he felt psychically drained, he hadn't been quite as happy in a long while. It was because of the vulnerable state of agreement he and Malfoy had come to last night. He knew it probably would be a let down, impulsive as Malfoy seemed to be, but he didn't know he'd cared so much about the fact that they hated one other. Or used to hate each other?

He scribbled some notes from the board and couldn't suppress a huge yawn. He wondered whether or not it had been an act from the Slytherin's side.

This afternoon there would be another two hours of Potions and therefore another two hours to be spent with Malfoy.

**Monday Afternoon. Slytherin Dungeon. Almost running late for Potions.**

Alex banged on Draco's door. "What the hell are you doing in there?" she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Damn woman just wait a minute." Came a muffled reply from the other side.

"It's been more than a minute, more like 23 minutes and 47 seconds. Blaise already left!"

"I'm almost done, only my hair."

"Stop acting like a pouf and leave the hair blondie."

"I will certainly not leave the hair; I'd end up looking as idiotic as you do."

"The problem being?"

"I, for one, have a reputation to maintain." He snapped.

"Alright, that's it, I'm comin' in!" She opened the door and spotted Draco standing in front of the mirror messing with his painfully perfect hair.

"What are ya doin'? It's fine, leave it."

"It's just not as it is supposed to be lying."

She snapped her fingers and his normally slicked back blonde hair fell around his ears, bangs brushing his forehead and framing his eyes.

Draco stared horrified into the mirror "AAH! What did you do?"

"I de-gelled your hair. Told you before that it can't be good for your brains Drakie-poo."

"BUT WHY THE HAIR?"

"It's nicer like this." She wiggled her nose "And if you'd wipe that scowl off your face you'd be even more charming."

Draco paused his protests and quirked an eyebrow up "You think I'm charming?"

"Yeah yeah… Of course I do." She waved him away and headed for the door. She abruptly froze in her tracks.

"Okay…" she swallowed audible "WHAT IS THAT?" she pointed at his bed.

"What?" he saw the object of her horror and scowled at her "C'mon it's time to go."

"Did I just saw a thong… with hearts?"

"No you did not. Now get out." He tried shoving Alex out of his room.

"Please tell me you have to use them in some kind off really disgusting potion for Snape."

"Someone send them me last year as a Valentines gift." He explained quickly.

"That's just plain sick. I mean they are so small and tiny… And those hearts…It's disgusting, it's sadistic...it's just plain wrong man!

"Can you imagine how I felt?"

She wrinkled her nose. "You should burn those." She nodded "You should burn those like… Right now."

"Let's just get to class…" Draco snarled as he dragged her out, kicking the tong under his bed in the progress.

"Potions." Ron muttered "Did I ever inform you how much I loathe potions?"

"I grief with you." Neville sighed and put his cauldron on the table.

Harry, Hermione and Ron went to sit on their usual spots, at the far end of the class and thus as far away from Snape as possible. Harry was still suckling at the end of his Sugar Quill.

"And please remind me why we are taking extra potions class from Snape?"

"Because we want to be Aurors?" Harry answered gloomy.

Ron groaned and rubbed his temples. "I curse Finbar for picking Divination…"

Harry snorted "I for one don't regret picking Divination only 2 hours a week… I do wonder why Finbar chose 6 hours…"

"He's a natural, trust me, even Firenze has trouble not getting obvious about the fact he's impressed…"

"Oh Merlin..." Hermione's hand flew to her mouth, her brown eyes wide.

"What?" both boys asked.

'Mione simply pointed at the door.

Alex and Draco entered, heading for their places. And Draco's hair was… loose. As in Free of Gel. As in not-plastered-to-his-skull-like-some-bird-shit-on-it-and-it-wouldn't-come-out-any-more.

Ron opened his mouth as to say something but gaped like a fish.

"Malfoy? What's with the do?" Blaise asked; an odd shimmering light of mischief and disbelief in his eyes as he fought a smile.

"Leave the do, no talk." He sneered and threw his bag on his desk.

Alex grinned and tousled his hair affectionately while Draco tried to bat her hands away with his copy of '_Magical Drafts and Potions' _by Arsenius Jigger.

"Do I have to remind you that you're ought to be sitting next to Mister Malfoy instead of staring at him or would you prefer another detention?" Snape hissed next to his ear, causing Harry to jump up, startled. Both he and Ron hurried over to their new appointed places. Harry ploffed down next to Malfoy whose face predicted not much good. He opened his mouth to say something but Malfoy was faster…

"Say something about the hair and I'll rip your lungs out…"

"Yes oh gell-less one…"

"Do you find this amusing Potter?"

"As a matter a fact, I do." He snickered at the frustrated snarl coming from Malfoy.

A good hour later Alex sighed as she saw Draco and Harry bicker over something concerning their potion. The blonde of course was being a complete asshole, as always. She frowned at the scene and Ron apparently thought the same. "You know, ferret boy is being a complete asshole again…" echoing her thoughts.

"Nothing new…" she sighed and added some Rosemary to the mixture; she and the red haired Gryffindor made a good team, their last potion had earned an 'O' from Snape. She didn't want to go into an in-depth discussion about her friendship with His Royal Iciness –knowing it would be in vain- so she slickly changed the subject.

"So…" she glanced sideways "When are you going to ask her out?"

Ron's head snapped up, his cheeks starting to flush. She snickered, having to admit he was kinda adorable. The Gryffindor tried to regain his composure by trying to pretend he didn't know what she was talking about. "Ask whom out?"

"Hmmm lessee… she has thick, brown curly hair, deep brown eyes, small frame, kinda bossy and right now she's straightening her prefect's badge for the 35th time this day."

"Why would you think I'd want to ask her out?"

"Oh c'mon Ron! You two are obvious… I even have a bet going with Ginny that you will be a couple before the end of the year…"

Ron rumpled his freckled nose and quietly whispered: "Don't know how I should ask her…"

"What about: Hi 'Mione, would you like to be my date for the Ball?" Alex provided him, an amused grin flashing over her face.

"When you put it that way, it sounds easy…" he hesitated and lowering his voice even more he continued "I want her to feel special, I don't want her to feel as a last resort."

Alex briefly touched his arm so he looked her in the eye. "That's nice Ron… and if you tell her like you did to me now, I'm sure she would love to accompany you…"

They both shared a true moment of pure friendship, smiling warmly at each other. "Who're you gonna ask?"

Alex' brow furrowed. "Don't know really…"

"Right…" he rolled his eyes heavenward.

"No really… I thought about it…" she added a sniff of garlic. "D'ya think Finbar would… you know."

"Aha, Finbar eh?" he waggled his eyebrows.

"Well, he's nice, he's friendly, he's got a sense of humor and he's cute as well… But then again you've got Blaise, he's odd, but he's a friend y'know." She shrugged, not really worried. "Ah we'll see; it's still 3 months ahead of us…"

**Thursday evening. Gryffindor tower.**

Harry finished the last up his push-ups, scrambled to his feet and flopped on his bed. He'd picked up the habit of doing push-ups and sit-ups everyday, not wanting to let down Moony, after all the werewolf sacrificed his whole Saturday morning and a big deal of the afternoon mentoring him. He closed his eyes, listening to the blood rushing trough his veins, his heart beating violently against his chest.

"Good evening hot stuff, I see you're trying to catch my attention as always…"

Harry promptly threw a pillow at Finbar, whom ducked it, snickering. "Idiot…" the raven head muttered. He recalled the day Finbar returned after 'falling down the stairs', his face so pale and miserable… the transformation really must be terrible.

"So."

"So?" Harry repeated.

"Have you told them yet?" Finbar sat down at the end of Harry's bed, giving him a stern look. His hands were up in his dark hair, tying a ponytail.

The Gryffindor stared at the miniature dragon parading on his nightstand, a little ashamed of himself. "No… I haven't…"

"Why not?"

"How am I supposed to tell them? Hey Ron, 'Mione, did you know I'm bisexual?" he said mutely.

"O c'mon Harry, you can do better then that. They are your friends…" Finbar leaned over and prodded him hard in the ribs.

"That's sexual harassment, Mister, and I don't have to take it."

"Oh like you don't want me to sexually harass you…"

"Finbar, don't make me hex you into next week!"

"Did you day 'hex' or 'sex'?"

Harry sat up and narrowed his eyes "I don't like you, I don't like you at all."

"Kidding, kidding!" he held up his hands defensively. "No really, you should tell them. So I herby command you to tell them by the end of October!"

"Oooh… I'm impressed…"

"Don't make me take off my shirt…"

**Saturday Evening. The ****Lake**

Somewhere, between preparing DA-meetings (which the first 'new' one was settled for next week Friday), Quiddich practice (Ron was a tyrant…), learning Occlumency (in which he had improved spectacularly. Poor Alex though hadn't at all…) and Moony's training sessions Harry found some time for himself on Saturday evening. Time for himself and therefore time to question himself over the mirror. He stared at his own reflection, his tanned face frowning back at him. He vaguely registered that he was 'growing up'; the once innocent face now that of a young man, his jaw line strong and well chiseled, his deep, mysterious, green eyes once again clear and bright, his ebony black hair quite long now, yet sticking up in all possible directions. If he would care he'd be extremely satisfied. But the Gryffindor didn't care; the only thing on his mind was Sirius' healthy and handsome face in the mirror, smiling up at him. "Sirius."

Nothing.

Harry had a weak feeling in his stomach. "Please… Sirius."

Silence.

Harry grunted and could barely rein his growing frustration so well known for its temper. He briefly thought about throwing it into the lake, but settled with a negative, knowing that he'd regret it later on. Had he really imagined it himself last week? But I couldn't have been Finbar; he'd entered when Harry had already seen it. "I'm so, so sorry Sirius…" He looked in it for a long time, but only his reflection kept frowning back at him.

Suddenly the mirror was pulled from his hands; someone had grabbed them while standing behind Harry. He wheeled around and stared into Malfoy's grinning face.

The blonde snickered. "Didn't know you'd be the kind to gaze at yourself for hours into the mirror… Narcist."

Normally Harry would have registered the playful tone –for as far Malfoy could some playful- in the Slytherin's voice and then he'd probably even laughed about it himself. But now… It was the mirror… Sirius' mirror.

"Give it back Malfoy." He didn't raise his voice, but he could hear it waver slightly.

"Can't have enough of yourself can't you?" he snickered while he shook his head; his blonde hair tickling his cheeks.

"Please, give me back the mirror."

A familiar smirk crossed over his lips, while he pulled up a pale eyebrow. "It's not like it's such an extraordinary looking mirror…" he examined it, turning it around a few times.

"Accio Mirror!" he'd said it completely out of habit and as soon as the second word rolled over his lips, he realized he'd left his wand up in the tower. Imagine his surprise when he _was _holding the mirror after all.

"Bloody Merlin!" Draco cussed "Why can everybody do that 'cept me?" He awaited some sort of reaction from the Gryffindor, but the youth just kept staring at the item in his hands. Draco slowly saw the expression change form surprised to utter shock. Just as he was about to ask him what was wrong, Harry started coughing hoarsely and hunched over. He made a weird gargling noise. Suddenly the green grass under the Seeker's feet turned velvety red. Blood. He was coughing up blood. Instinctively Draco reached out, hooked an arm around his chest pulled him carefully upright. Blood dripped sickingly out of his mouth, drenching his white blouse, eyes teary from the effort of trying to keep from fainting.

_It took me ages to get Potter to the hospital wing, supporting him completely while his blood colored my ivory white skin mockingly scarlet red. I talked to him all the way up, trying to keep him conscious. His face was drained from all color and the most frustrating thing was that, of course for once, I didn't encounter anyone in the hallways, so I suspected it was Dinner. When we finally did arrive at Madame Pomfrey's, his breathing became shallow and his heartbeat weakened. I swear to Merlin I've never, ever felt like I do now. I even can't describe how I feel. Empty? _

_I awake shuddering once again. I've tried several times, but always comes his face back, blood streaming over his lips as he starts hissing in parseltongue that it is my fault that he's dying. That it is my fault that everything that is good is rotting away…_

_A shimmer on my nightstand catches me eye. The mirror. He'd dropped it somewhere along the way up and I collected it when I left him in Poppy's care. I swing my legs over the edge of my bed and run a hand trough my silvery hair before I reach out to pick it up. I still wonder what fascinated him about this mirror and even more; was it the mirror that almost killed him?_

_Why keep I feeling guilty? _

Draco pushed himself up from his bed and quickly slipped on his favorite grey cotton shirt, before tiptoeing past his roommates beds. Crabbe roared a hideously loud snore and the blonde had to keep himself from throwing the lithe mirror at the meaty head. The door screeched softly when he opened it and left the room, hearing Crabbe's snoring wan as he did. Now the next part; down the stairs and into the common room. Alex was curled up in a ball, her white hair hanging over the edge of the couch as a white waterfall. He fiercely tried blocking away every emotion or thought, not wanting to wake her up. He whispered the password blearily audible and hopped lithely trough the portrait hole. He padded trough the freezing, dark hallways, always on his guard.

Very, very quietly he opened the door to Pomfrey's domain with an 'Alohamora'-spell. He absentmindedly wondered why the place even had a door if it could be opened with such a simple trick. He stood unnaturally still after a few steps in the room, listening intently whether or not the nurse was around. After making sure the place was abandoned his eyes followed the numerous beds; until he saw in the uttermost a familiar mop of black hair. He swiftly strode over and pulled a chair next to the bed, the action giving him a déjà vu about the first Thursday of the school year. He sat down and looked at Potter's pale face. The Gryffindor simply looked awful… although his face was wonderfully different without the hideous glasses Draco hated so much. His unruly black hair -which was due for a haircut in the Slytherin's opinion- was draped over the white pillows supporting his head, a few wisps stray in his face. _Stupid Potter._Annoyed, he brushed a strand of ebony out of the pale face.

Potter stirred and his eyes fluttered open.

_Damn. _

"Malfoy…?" the green eyes locked with the grey ones. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking whether you've finally died…" he replied smartly.

Harry snickered yet a pained expression flew over his face as he did. "You are such a brat…"

"Yet a cute one at that!" Draco countered. He frowned as a nervous expression settled over Potter's face. "Anyway," he said, ignoring Potter's odd behavior "I have something that belongs to you…" He dug out the mirror and handed it over to Potter who accepted it, an anxious look on his face.

"Sirius!" was the first thing he said.

Draco's brow disappeared in his blonde hair at that. _Black?__ The bloke whose name got cleared this summer? _He saw Potter's jaw clench as something didn't seem to go as it should.

Harry placed the mirror on his nightstand without much love and grumpily pulled himself straight up, surprised at the effort it seemed to take. "Malfoy… Why did you… bring it back?" within this one question were a thousand more.

Draco's face fell for a second. Actually, truthfully… he didn't know. And for the first time this night he wondered why he even got down here in the first place. "I have no use for it…" _Well, that was a fair answer, wasn't it? _

Harry studied Malfoy's sharp face as a small smile settled on the pink lips and that was all the Gryffindor needed to know. Truce. Their endless, idiotic, useless and senseless bickering was over. Malfoy was not a cold, heartless person whose only purpose in life was to cause pain to others and he was human too, even if he chose to hide it… even if he was rude and obnoxious and stuck up… even if he was Lucius' son.

The Slytherin's voice snapped him back to the present "I'm leaving, don't want to get whipped by Pomfrey…" he moved to stand up, but Harry quickly caught his wrist.

"Malf-… Draco." He nodded at the mirror "Thanks."

**Sunday Morning.**

_Draco__ ran his hand in slow circles over the bare chest beneath him. Marveling at how soft his skin was while the steel muscles rippled appealingly beneath the soft layer of tanned skin at every movement the other made. He leaned down to brush his lips over his lovers', a soft yet most perfect kiss ever. _

_"You're mine Harry." He growled deep in his throat. _

_He gazed into the emerald deep pools before kissing him more passionately on the lips. He felt Harry's strong hands roaming over his back while the soft lips trailed off to his neck… Sending shivers down his spine as he stopped at the blonde's ears, breath ragged and warm. Draco closed his eyes and arched into him as he made all the pain and loneliness evaporate into the starry sty. _

As the morning crept through Draco's curtains, he crooked an eye open. He was sweaty and disorientated. Suddenly he shot up with jolt, causing him to fall right off the edge of his bed.

_Oh Merlin. I did NOT just dream that I was shagging bloody Potter. Did I? _

_I did… I dreamed that, Bloody Merlin… Okay that's it, I've officially gone mental. _

He swiftly scrambled up to his feet and grabbed clean robes so he could take a very hot shower and try to wash away all of the disgusting thoughts.

_Must admit that he was looking quite lovely.__ All sweaty and needy and naked and… scratch that, better make it a cold one._

He snapped out of his train of thought, jumping slightly as Alex poked her head over his shoulder. He also noticed now that his roommates had apparently awoken before him and were attending breakfast.

"Happy Sunday mate!"

_How did she get in without making a noise?_

"Would you be so kind to remind me, _what_ you are doing in my room?" He growled, rubbing his temples.

"Trying to let you know that's there's no escaping me?"

"Fabulous."

"I know."

Draco grunted and headed for the bathroom.

**Great Hall.**** Breakfast. Slytherin Table**

Draco pushed his bacon and scrambled eggs around his plate absently.

_Me and Potter?__ Impossible. It was just a dream right? Dreams are just dreams._

But why had the mere touch of Potter's hand on his wrist triggered a warm sensation in his chest that spread out to every part of his body and made his head tingle? He shook his head tiredly. This was ridiculous. He though about Potter grabbing the snitch a split second before him, he thought about Potter turning him down when he'd offered his 'friendship', he thought about Potter being in the spotlight all the time, he thought about Potter being loved by half of the wizard community, he thought about Potter beating him up last year and he thought about Potter being the one who saved him as well, yet only briefly and without even knowing it. An ugly scowl spread over his face. _That's better. I can't stand Potter, but I don't hate him anymore… Right?_

He saw Alex smiling at him in a knowing manner. _Damn girl is a menace. _He though vengefully.

* * *

PleasePleasePlease reviewreviewreview!; you don't know how much it means to me! I'm getting on my knees… please? Pretty please review? And those who've already reviewed: You guys are the best ; thank you sososososo much! What did you think? Was it awful? Should I re-write? Was it too soon? pulls hair tell meeeeeee! 


	11. Rise of the Shadows

**Author's note: **When Draco dreams about Harry speaking to him in parseltongue; it's based on a similar experience I had; I had a dream about my best friend speaking to me in Spanish and without really understanding it, I knew what she meant… in my dream that is. Sorry for the inconvenience…

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ** **Wihstrum**

**Chapter eleven: Rise of the Shadows**

Hermione slipped her hand into Harry's as she looked her friend sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling ever so slightly. She felt so, so sorry for him; always, it was him who got into trouble, him who got hurt, him everybody was depending on…  
She stroked his cheek and praised him for his strength, physically and mentally. Imagine their shock when they found out that it was Malfoy, of all people, who saved his life. If the Slytherin hadn't been there, Harry would have died. Nobody knew what happened and Harry refused to explain so far. Ron was so worried that he nearly cancelled the Quiddich practice; she however insisted that he'd go out and try to relax.

She felt the raven haired boy squeeze her hand weakly. He softly opened his eyes and looked at her, smiling. "Hermione…"

"Oh Harry…" she leaned over and pressed her face in the round of his neck.

He wrapped an arm around her "I'm okay…" he smiled in her hair, so glad to see her.

Hermione pulled back and looked in his beautiful green eyes. "Ron wanted to stay until you woke up, but I kinda forced him to continue the Quiddich practice anyway…" She brushed another lock of hair out of his face "We were so worried…"

"It's fine really. I just feel a little tired."

"Harry… please tell me what happened…" her voice quivered slightly.

The Gryffindor frowned. _Should I tell her? _He saw his friend's pleading brown eyes. _Damn you Harry, this is Hermione! She has the right to know!_

"Well… it actually started before Sirius died…" His hand was shaking slightly when he reached out for the mirror on his nightstand "He gave me this mirror; it was from back when they were Marauders. They could communicate with each other by speaking one of the others names; their face would show up in the mirror." He pushed himself upright and put his glasses on "When Sirius died, I tried it. I called out his name several times, but nothing happened… in my frustration I broke it and left it forgotten in my trunk… And now, just a week ago, I cut myself on it while I was sorting out my trunk. I repaired it and barely a second after the last piece connected… Sirius' reflection was in it." His voice was strained "Before I could say his name, it was gone. Yesterday, I was sitting by the lake, trying again, calling out his name over and over again… Nothing happened. After that Malfoy pulled the mirror from my hands, wanting to tease me a little…"

Hermione's brow furrowed.

"No 'Mione, he didn't want to get on my nerves, he just wanted, I don't know… tease a little. Anyway, I 'Accio'-ed the mirror back… without my wand, I left it up in the tower. Still is."

"You can do wandless magic?" her eyes went wide.

"Seems so… But that's not what it's about. When I looked at the mirror in my hand, Sirius was in it again, but seemed like he was trying to warn me or something. And indeed, only a moment later, Voldemort's reflection appeared. That's when it happened… it felt like a cold hand slipped in my throat, choking me. And then I coughed up blood…"

"Oh Merlin… How? How did he…?"

Harry's jaw clenched… "This is my dad's mirror… Merlin knows where Sirius' is… Moony still ought to have his…'

"Pettigrew…"

"Exactly…" Harry spat. "I bet he was crawling happily around when he found out they could reach me like this…" he heaved a sigh "This is all such a mess…"

Hermione rubbed his arm comfortingly "I'm here for you…"

I smiled at her while Finbar's words seeped back into my brain. Perhaps, if I told her now, she'd still be feeling too sorry for me… so maybe she wouldn't smack me over the head…

"Umh… 'Mione?"

"Yes?" she gave me a worried look, probably hearing the tone in my voice.

"I've got something to tell you…" Harry ran a hand trough his black hair. "I… eh… I seems like I'm… eh… bisexual…"

Silence.

"Mione?"

"I knew it!" she grinned triumphantly.

"You what? Did he tell you? Oh I'm so gonna kick his ass…"

"Eh? Who?"

"Finbar…"

"What has Finbar got to do with it?"

"Well, he was the one unlucky enough to 'feel' me being attracted to him. We were changing after the tryouts… and I felt attracted. Imagine our mutual shock…"

Hermione giggled behind her hand "Don't worry, he didn't tell…" she laughed out loud now. "Actually it was Alex… She told me about the kissing-escapade, you wanting to know whether or not you were attracted to her…"

_Oh Merlin… forgot about that_

"Remind me to kick Alex' little ass instead…"

"Why would you wanna kick my ass?"

Harry's head shot up. Alex strode over to his bed, a wide grin on her face, Blaise tagging a little awkward behind her. She gathered him in a warm embrace her face somewhere in his hair. "Damn you… I nearly had a heart attack…"

She was wearing some old yeans hanging low on her hips, her wand in her back pocket, a simple white blouse and her hair hanging freely around her face, reaching till the half of her back. Blaise observed the scene from a safe distance, not sure of what to do. When Alex eventually let go of Harry, he strode over and nodded at him. "Good to see you're okay Potter…"

The Gryffindor snickered softly at hearing Blaise calling him 'Potter'. "Thank's Zabini…"

Blaise's mouth corner quirked up as he winked.

_Seems like not all Slytherin's are cold, calculating people… _

Harry felt his bed wobble when Alex plonked down on it. "So… you wanna kick my ass eh? The honor of this event being?"

"Harry, mate you are awake!"

_Saved by Ron!_

Ron had to keep himself from running over to Harry and squeal in delight. He settled with a warm grin. "I'm so glad you're okay…" he said, joined by mutual responses coming from Ginny, Finbar, Neville and Luna. Ginny and Luna where the next ones to give him a warm hug, while Finbar settled with tousling his hair.

Harry had been released from the hospital wing Monday morning. Psychically was nothing wrong with him and of course, as always in Hogwards, a mind-blowing epic about Harry facing Voldemort in a face to face duel, fighting for his life was the result of that. After that came an even more complicated story about Harry receiving the power of wandless magic, by some sort of Saint. Harry had dreaded being in public places, everyone asking him to do a trick without his wand. And indeed, he was just as skilled in the art of wandless magic as Alex was.

**Tuesday evening. Occlumency practice. 5 Weeks Later.**

He and the white haired Slytherin were sitting next to each other, both clearing out their mind. After about half an hour of silent meditation, Dumbledore and Snape each asked their respective students if they were ready to give it a try.

They practiced a short while, Harry satisfied for being able to block Dumbledore out, even if the old wizard tried to force himself in. He smiled contently when he'd completely fought the pressure in his skull away. He suddenly heard Alex groan next to him, somewhere on the floor. She was holding her head with her hands, looking positively green. This kept on for another hour or so, before McGonagall stumbled in the room, obviously panicking.

"Albus! Emergency call from the North of Ireland! Death Eaters are slaughtering several rural villages!"

"Harry, Alex, stay here and practice clearing out your mind for another half hour… after that you're dismissed." Dumbledore instructed them before he hurried after the Transfiguration professor, Snape hurling after them.

Harry could feel his scar tingle, he wondered if it came from the attack going on in Ireland… he helped Alex up, her face pale, eyes red.

She swayed slightly as she pulled herself to her feet. "Thanks Harry…" she tied her hair back with a little cord and heaved a sigh "This is never going to work… I can't hold him of… not even for a second… I'm just so nervous… I don't want _him _to see in my memory…"

The Gryffindor studied her gaunt expression. "Say… maybe I could give it a try…"

Her green eyes locked with his. "Really? I'd feel a lot better if it were you…" she smiled weakly at him.

"Okay, I'll try…" He gave her another five minutes to clear her mind. He waited her to give him a signal to go. She gave him a slight nod and braced herself.

He aimed his wand and shouted "Legilimens!"

Alex furiously tried keeping her mind blank, focusing on a point in the far distance. She was able to keep him out for a few minutes before room started to blur and sway, Harry's mind seeping into hers. Her defenses were violently shattered and her mind drifted while the sparse few memories started to flash rapidly before her eyes. Draco helping her with a History of Magic essay, Finbar and her practicing Quiddich at late night, Ginny laughing, Harry in the hospital wing, Alex herself in the hospital wing, Draco's chest covered with blood, Thestrals, Finbar on the train, Diagon Ally, her first wand, Harry combing her hair, a cold floor, darkness.  
Deep, heavy darkness. Oh wait, there was a little dot in the distance, a little ray of light. They were getting near. Almost…

Suddenly they were in a dusty, cold room. It looked a bit like a cellar. In a corner of the room was a rickety chair, a young girl tied to it, her cheek was purple from a nasty bruise, her clothes torn. She was barely 14 years old, baby blue eyes brimming with tears, an unspoken plea, while her bottom lip quivered. A man with a black cape held the back of her neck in a painful grasp.

"Kill her." An inhuman cold and shrill voice commanded.

Her fists clenched "No, I- I won't!"

"You are to follow my command! Kill her now! Or you'll pay the consequences…" he threatened her, his red eyes boring deep into her skull, giving her a pounding headache.

"No!" she hissed trough gritted teeth.

"If you can't do it by the killing curse, use this dagger…" he pushed a sharp, small dagger in her hands. There were still stains on it from the previous victim.

"I refuse!" she growled, her finger nails leaving little half moons in the palm of her hand, blood seeping out of them.

The Dark Lord hit her head on with a Cruciatus. An explosion from all-consuming agony darkened her sight, as she writhed in pain on the cold, dirty floor. Her blood seemed to boil in its veins, yet also freezing her to death. The pain stabbed her flesh, bones and skin… She just wished he'd finally kill her when suddenly he lifted his wand and left her sprawling on the floor, gasping for breath.

"Then watch."

A blood-freezing scream filled the room.

Harry's eyes flew open as Alex' high plea reached his mind. "Stoooooooooooop…" he abruptly lifted the spell he held her in and the white haired girl slumped to the ground.

"God Alex, I'm so sorry" he hunched next to her, wanting to comfort her.

"Keep away from me!" she slurred, her eyes were glazing over.

A tight knot strangled Harry's insides. "I'm so sorry Alex… I'm so sorry." He reached out.

She slapped his hand away sharply. "Goddammit Harry, keep away from me… keep… keep… away." She was holding her head, while she struggled to get to her feet.

"It was an accident…"

"GO AWAY! PLEASE!" suddenly she stared shuddering, the green color draining from her eyes.

The Gryffindor hurried over to keep her from falling against a table.

"HARRY! DON'T" with all the might she could muster, she ignored the venomous little voice in her head telling her to kill him, pushing him violently away instead. She didn't stop to check whether he was okay or not and sprinted out of the classroom.

Harry hit his back against a table, but ignored the sharp pain, darting after her. He could hear her swift footsteps echoing trough the castle. He didn't know why, but he just knew he had to stop her. Something awful would happen if he didn't. His scar burned and tingled as if urging him to go even faster. Before he realized it, he was chasing her over the grounds surrounding Hogwards, the pale moon high in the dark sky, illuminating Alex' white hair fluttering behind her as she disappeared into the Forbidden Forest. Without further consideration he followed in after her. He had to stop her, he had to. He just knew it. This was wrong. The thorns pulled at his clothes and the twigs whipped his face, leaving red marks on his jaw and forehead. He couldn't hear her anymore. Did he lose her? He was about to call out her name when he saw her standing, paralyzed as if she was a statue. Carefully he walked over to her. "Alex?"

"H-Harry… run. G--go…" He voice was a faint whisper before she wavered and fell over on her stomach.

Before he could comprehend what was happening goosebumps spread across his body without warning. Several dark shapes were looming in the shadows of the trees and the rattled breathing of Dementors filled the chilly air. He also saw the creatures he remembered from his vision about Gringott's… the demon-like creatures. One of them was considerably bigger than the others, almost as big as Fluffy whom had guarded the Philosopher's Stone. Its teeth flickered in the faint moonlight as drool seeped down its chin… Instead of being hunched over on all fours, it stood awkwardly up, two long limbs as arms, nearly reaching the ground ending in long, sharp claws.

"Expecto Partonum!" The silver stag sprang from the palm of Harry's hand, prancing briefly around before attacking some nearby dementors. There were so many, all gliding closer, occasionally fleeing Harry's raging Patronus. He knees gave out when he felt a rotting hand touch his cheek, his silver stag evaporating immediately. He tightly shut his eyes and mouth when the foul stench of decay and death penetrated his nose. He almost missed Alex' calling out his name, her voice hitching on the last syllable of his name. Harry's eyes flew open "A…alex…" was all he managed to get out, his mother's pleading screams echoing in his head as the mouth of a dementor was lowered onto his.

"HarRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYHHHHHHH" her voice rang trough the night, her clear voice, her feminine voice… suddenly a hoarse growl… and finally a furious roar.

The lips of the dementor brushed Harry's and he lurched at the contact, feeling as if he'd swallowed some sort of living insect. A sharp pain shot trough his heart…

A large creature dug its teeth in the back of the dementor's head, yanking it away from Harry with immense power… Growling in frustration as all dementors and demons turned their attention to it. It snarled and licked its lips, before it dug in the nearest dementor's stomach.

Meanwhile Harry's eyes fluttered open, a liquid drab somewhere on his cheeks and lips. He coughed and scrambled to his knees and the blurry vision cleared… he caught glance of a conflict between the Shadowborns, dementors and something else. He couldn't quite see what it was; the creature being buried under a pile of demons and soul-suckers, all trying to conquer the ferocious attacker.

Instinctively he reached out for his wand… but it wasn't there. It still was in the classroom, on the ground, forgotten in the chaos. He'd called a Patronus without his wand… he closed his eyes and tried to focus on his soul, containing the magic power he needed. Harry's eyes flew open again, an angry shout leaving his throat while he stretched out the palm of his hand to the group of fighting creatures. A blinding pulse of white light rolled trough the forest and lighted everything in a radius of 15 kilometers…  
The raven haired boy blinked a few times, the impact of the blast had knocked him backwards, he pushed himself up on his elbows and saw the large demon circling with Harry's unusual savior: An unnaturally big, white tiger. The creature seemed to shimmer silver in the moonlight, large green eyes never leaving the enemy, teeth flickering as the upper lip was pulled up in a vicious snarl. The tiger was wounded heavily in its side, the bright red blood contrasting the white fur. It was also limping heavily, hind leg pulled up, supporting itself on tree legs.

Yet a blood-stirring roar left its mouth as itself lunched once again forward, teeth disappearing in the weak stomach of her opponent. The demon roared in anger, while it slung a long claw at the Tiger's cheek, knocking it backwards. The black nightmare threw himself on top of the Tiger, caught of guard, aiming for the soft throat of the creature. In a split second, the tiger rolled over and shut her jaws around the ugly head of the demon, the black skin and flesh parting under its teeth like butter. The Shadowborn screeched one last time, a sickening crunch audible as its skull shattered. The Tiger winched and let go after making sure that it was dead with one last extra effort of pulling a chunk of grey flesh from the head of demon.

Harry scrambled to his feet as the white tiger limped over to him, thick, dark blood dripping from its mouth… a jaw missing. It stopped some few feet away from him and looked Harry in the eye. Vaguely the Gryffindor heard Alex' voice reaching him in his mind… it sounded as if she was far, far away.

"Oh Merlin… Alex?" he reached out, the tiger surpassing him greatly in length.

As soon as he called out the name, the green, feline eyes of the beast before him, glazed over. It hurled a terrified snarl and started shaking and scratching his head, pulling strands of white fur from its skin. The misty eyes turned blazing white, the tiger swaying on its legs as if it were drunk and Alex' voice being pushed back by an annoying, high beep.

The tiger slumped down a few meters further, bashing its head against a tree in the progress. It was like watching a film in fast-forward… the fur disappeared, the back straightened, the head changing, jaws shrinking, the large paws turning to hands. And there lay Alex, wounded beyond any help. Harry swiftly strode over to her, but ran into an invisible wall.

A high-pitched snickering cut trough the air, sending shivers down the Gryffindor's spine. "Seems like my little decoy in Northern Ireland worked just perfectly… And just as soon as that old fool left, I only had to lure you out…" His snakelike features pulled into a false grin.

Harry noticed silhouettes of several Death Eaters, circling around him… one of them broke the formation and pulled the black cap back. Bellatrix. The emerald eyes youth's fists tightened, his knuckles turning white. She pulled Alex roughly to her feet; the girl's green eyes flew open in bewilderment.

"I wouldn't have suspected her to fight of my little army of dementors and Shadowbrons… not mentioning that little trick you pulled of…" he hissed, clearly displeased.

"Let her go Tom…" he said calmly.

"Tom? Tom! " A shrill slaughter left his lips "Don't even dare you call me that, Harry… Don't you remember what I did to you in the Ministry of Magic? We wouldn't want that to happen again now would we? I bet you're missing you're filthy little dog aren't you?"

Harry's eyes narrowed in pure hate. The earth began to tremble…

"Oooh… is little Potter scared? Don't worry, if you bow before me, it will be a quick and clean death…"

Harry clenched both his fists as the earth began to shake all the more. "I'm warning you… let her go! It's me you want, not her!"

"You're wrong Potter…" he snickered, the hairs rising in the Gryffindor's neck once again. "Bellatrix" he snapped, his eerie red eyes never leaving the green ones. "Finish it."

From within the folds of her robe Bellatrix pulled her wand, a nasty grin curling around her thin lips; she pointed the tip at Alex' heart; her injuries keeping her from defending herself. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The second word barely rolled over the Death Eater's lips as Harry once again stretched his palm instinctively. A second wave of pure white light blinded them as the Unforgivable bounced of the shield the young wizard had erected. The white was followed by a green one, a sharp pain cutting trough every living thing it encountered, leaving an unbearable stench.

Harry sank to his knees, the last of his powers wasted countering the Curse of Death. But he wasn't the only one, no; all his opponents were on the ground as well, even the Dark Lord.

Death Eaters apparated away as Tom recovered from his shock and outrage. "You were lucky this time Potter, but don't forget I'll always be there…" he touched his temple briefly before he disappeared with a plop.

The forest fell quiet all of a sudden, only Harry's ragged breath audible whilst the leaves of the trees rustled softly. It took a great deal of energy to lift his head, a few meters before was his friend, the wound in her side, gaping at him, her face down in the leaves and sand. He crawled over to her, on elbows and knees, every movement draining him more and more. He cradled her lithe body in his arms, and brushed the long locks out of her face.

"O Alex…" a tear ran down his cheek as he saw the hideous wound on her head, blood dripping out of her mouth, a teeth missing.

She coughed and opened her eyes. "You go Harry…" she snickered, but the mere shaking made her howl in pain. "Don't think I'll make it trough the night…" her voice strained and she spat out some blood "You better go back."

"Don't be ridiculous… You'll be fine." He hissed.

"Heh… After remembering, I'm not so sure I want to live on…"

"Shut up! If you dare leaving me now, I'll swear to Merlin I'll never forgive you!" he wrapped his cloak around the both of them and pulled her close to him. "Never give up. That's the worst thing you can do, you can't give up nor ran from your fears... because they'll come after you…"

Alex buried her face against his chest as she cried silently while the Gryffindor rocked her softly. "Please Alex, you have to fight…" he placed a kiss on her forehead. The hours came and went. Alex was cold and her heartbeat weakened.

Harry waited for help.

* * *

Oooooooooh! How was it? Please tell? Review if you want more! Okay how about this: I'll update if I hit 30 reviews ; mwhahaha…

I have a question for all those who're reading my story: Whom do you want me Alex to partner with, if anyone at all? There are only 2 available victims: Finbar or Blaise, and if I don't find 'Mister Right' she'll remain single for now. And just to make sure: Alex and Draco is a no go, period! You'll find out later why _and _I will have Draco and Harry getting together later on…

Why not now? Well, I don't like stories which go like: I don't hate you, I secretly love you! –Really? Kewl me too! –Wanna get busy?

And are there really that much supporters of the Harry/Finbar coupling?


	12. Reading Souls

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ** **Wihstrum**

**Chapter Twelve: Reading Souls**

"Dear Merlin…What happened…?"

The voice sounded oddly familiar, but Harry was having enough trouble opening his eyes to think about it. What the hell had he been doing? With every flex of muscle or skin sore pain would shoot trough his body. He moaned and tried to open his eyes. All was a blurry mess, but he could make out vague silhouettes of people bending over him. And why was everybody yelling and screaming?

"Here, your glasses…" Someone muttered and pushed the familiar object in his hands. Automatically he put them on his nose and brushed some stubborn stands out of his eyes. That's better… a twig snapped when he sat upright, faint sunlight shining through the trees casting yellow spots on his dark robes.

_Trees?__Forest_

He narrowed his eyes and thought hard. He was forgetting something…

"ALEX!" In one swift motion he was up, although his whole body screamed out in pain. He didn't care whatever or whoever was calling out his name and he trudged away pushing some bushes aside. He didn't have to go far though; his mouth fell open in disbelief as he spotted a familiar curtain of white hair only a few meters ahead. He saw her _walking_ through the bodies littered on the ground, spreading a foul stench, making Harry's insides squirm most unpleasantly. It was as if she was looking for something, or rather someone. He opened his mouth to call her…

A hand curled around his shoulder "Leave her Harry; she's got a lot on her mind…"

The Gryffindor knew whose voice it was now. Dumbledore's.

Alex in meanwhile stopped in her tracks and her gaze focused on a particular large corpse. She slalomed her way over to it, sidestepping over the other dark shapes on the ground. Her back was facing Harry when he saw her bending down, hand disappearing in the head –or rather he thought it used to be a head- of a large Shadowbron. He couldn't see what she was doing, but she dropped something in her back pocket as she spat on the dead creature. At long last she turned around and made her way up to Harry, whom still believed that he was hallucinating.

"Thank you…" she tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek, her lips quivering. She avoided his gaze as she stalked over to the gloomy figure of Snape. The image of her face was burned onto his retina; nothing, not a scratch nor a bruise. If her clothes hadn't been torn, she'd look perfectly normal.

Harry swallowed, his throat dry and tongue swollen. "She's…okay?"

"Yes, she's perfectly alright… but I fear that she's hurting mentally…"

Merlin, couldn't he ever pass a school year without ending up in the Medical Wing? The familiar scent of various medicinal potions, the sheets of the beds, soft yet crisp. After several diagnostic spells, Madame Pomfrey had concluded that he was in fact healthy, save for an enormous headache and sore body.  
The Gryffindor rubbed his temples tiredly, the blood pounding in his head; his scar burning and now his also palm itching and tingling. Harry's bed sagged as Remus sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "I'm so glad you're okay Harry… we feared the worst when Hermione, as well as Mr. Malfoy informed us that neither of you showed up after Occlumency."

"I'm okay…" he forced a smile at the werewolf "It's just a little much to comprehend… You should have seen her Moony; she was beyond any help…"

_Okay? I'm everything but okay… _

"We know… and it seems that we've only seen a fraction of what she really can do…"

"She's an Animagus…"

"Yes… plus she's got the ability of Recovery… and very powerful at that." Lupin shifted ever so slightly so he could look the young wizard in the eye. "And not to mention that display of magic you pulled of…" he laughed nervously.

"Purely instinctive; I wouldn't even remember how I did that…"

"Harry… you countered the Killing Curse." Remus paused to let the words sink in. "Twice."

The Gryffindor rubbed the palm of his hand. "It won't stop tingling…"

The werewolf smiled faintly at him "You'll learn how to control it later on…"

"Alex?"

"With Snape… he's telling her everything, the very reason of who and what she is."

His voice wavered "She's hurting Remus… I can feel it. I could feel it ever since I woke up."

"You two bonded this night. Your friendship and mutual love for one other bonded the both of you when you saved each others lives." Remus squeezed his shoulder.

"How are the rest of the students?"

"Scared, but it seems like the two of you prevented Voldemort and his followers from doing any real harm…"

Harry sighed resignedly. "Ireland?"

Remus' face clouded over "Worse… over five hundred died… we're still counting the injured, but we think it'll be three times that…"

"All that just to lure me out…" he covered his eyes and heaved a sigh.

"Not only you… He's still after Alex."

He looked deep in Remus' golden eyes "Why…?"

"You'd better ask her yourself. I think she'll have a hard time handling it herself."

The rest of the week crawled by quite uneventfully, although all eyes were on two students; Alex and Harry. Harry had been praised into the heavens when the story managed to spread out, their efforts to keep it a secret in vain. Students stalled him in the hallways congratulating him, asking him for details... Harry hated it. He truly, utterly hated it.

Worst of all way was Alex' behavior, she completely shielded herself from every social contact, and even if Harry managed to catch up with her in the hallways, she didn't even respond. It was like she was there, but all the same she wasn't.

Harry slipped in stand-by mode for the rest of week, allowing himself time to think. He couldn't quite describe the feeling he was experiencing, but it was akin to nervousness.

**Thursday Night. ****Gryffindor****Tower**

Somewhere on the far other end of the castle was hurting someone. Harry just knew, feel, maybe shared Alex' pain. He tossed and turned, blankets clinging at his body, but not once was he at peace. It was as if his life had taken off at high speed and he was failing in trying to keep up. In two months his life had changed completely and actually there was only one real reason: Alex. When he thought of it, she was the thin string that tied everything together…

Before meeting up with Ron and Hermione again that summer, he'd vowed to distance himself from them, to keep them safe. But he couldn't. Upon seeing Alex so alone that faithful night, he realized that he should be grateful to have friends and that they wouldn't want to be pushed away for their own safety. They were there for him and he would return that form of friendship whole heartedly.

Then came Malfoy, he'd stopped calling Hermione mudblood, now he simply called her Granger. Oh yes, he still was an incredible asshole, but he was different. Like there was a crack in his icy wall that slowly shattered his shield. And once again Harry knew who'd made that crack: Alex. For some unknown reason she was able to look past his act and right into his soul. Most shockingly was that Malfoy hadn't even made a 'move' towards her… Malfoy was unofficially known as the Sex God of Slytherin, meaning he could get anyone whom he'd wanted, one way or another. But around Alex… he seemed to care for her in a different way… that sounds odd doesn't it? Malfoy care?

Even Finbar –whom was by the way snoring like a whale- seemed to be affected by her. Gaining control over his Sight whenever she was around or touched him. Even though Firenze's lessons allowed Finbar to walk around the castle without risking hurting himself or anyone else for that matter, he still controlled his Sight best when Alex was there.

And now, lastly, was the most disturbing tie she had. Something he'd forgotten about after school started. The tie she had to Voldemort and therefore the tie she had with his past. That was the most crucial part of the puzzle that was Alex.

He whimpered in his pillow, right hand clenched in a trembling fist. The itching wouldn't stop. That raised the next big question: what had been those pulses of bright light? Or rather; had it really been his doing? Yes, of course it had. He grunted. Like he needed to be anymore _special_…  
The black haired youth narrowed his eyes and tried hard to remember what he'd done exactly; the first one had been when Alex was piled under the dark creatures, the second one when Bellatrix tried to murder her…  
His green eyes widened in surprise. The earthquake! The earth had trembled when Tom taunted him. _He, _Harry himself, had created that earthquake and logically enough that would indicate that the one that happened at the beginning of the school year had also been his doing. What was happening?

Four tiresome days passed and at long last it became weekend…

**Saturday evening.**

"Potter!"

Harry quirked up an eyebrow surprised and slightly wary to see Draco Malfoy closing the space between them, his expression deadly serious. "I'm going to ask you a favor… Don't give me that look, because it'll only happen once…" He looked into Harry's green eyes while he pulled him into a narrow alcove.

"Eh Malfoy, didn't know you were into this sort of stuff…" Harry protested at the close contact.

"Shut it. I'm serious." the stormy grey eyes glinted at him, a deep frown settled on his face. "You have to talk to her…"

He hung his head, and one lock of dark hair flopped over his eyes. "She hasn't said anything to me for four days…"

"Yes that's the fucking deal Potter…" he snarled "She hasn't spoken to anyone… She doesn't eat… She doesn't sleep. I can't reach her, whatever I do; shouting, comforting, reasoning, ignoring…" the serious expression was briefly replaced with one of pure concern. Just briefly.

"Please." A lot of willpower was mustered to utter that one word.

How could one refuse Malfoy when he was actually 'begging' (Please was as close as begging in Malfoy's case) "Okay, but I doubt that she'll talk to me…"

Malfoy abruptly leaned a lot closer then necessary and whispered "She will."

He was obviously tired and desperate, to such an extent to face his rival and ask a favor. His pale face had a gaunt expression, dark circles around his eyes. He mustn't have slept for thee days, although he still was undeniably handsome… _Whoa, not a good time to have these thoughts… I am trapped with the git in an alcove, alone. Right and that did not help. _

Trying to sound as if he didn't care, Harry asked him "You really care about her, don't you?"

The familiar sneer was pulled back to his face "I couldn't care less about her, Potter. I'm a prefect, it's my duty."

A smirk tugged at Harry's lips as he brushed past him. Without turning he said "See you in Potions Malfoy."

The sun was setting, the grounds around Hogwarts bathing everything in a strange orange glow, as if everything was on fire. He traced the bank of the lake, following the rhythmic footprints before him, which he hoped were Alexs'. He smiled when he saw the Slytherin sitting on the very same spot he'd been grieving for Sirius. Her eyes followed the silvery flicks on the surface, hugging her legs, head propped up her knees.

"Good evening Alex…" he murmured when he sank down next to her.

No reaction.

"Seems like you've even managed to lure Malfoy out of his lair, since he was the one who filled me in on your situation…." Harry looked over at Alex, trying to gauge her reaction.

Alex didn't even blink her eyes.

"You'll have to say something someday…"

She finally gave some sort of reaction… She snorted. Harry's frustration was nearing dangerous heights.

"Don't act so childish…" he growled "If you don't talk about it, you'll drown in your self-pity…"

A slight smile flashed over her lips. A bitter smile. The lack of furthermore vocal response wasn't surprising.

"Dammit Alex!" he sneered, his glasses riding down his nose at the action. "Why don't you bloody say something, this is ridiculous!" he swallowed his anger and continued in a more calm tone "Why don't you talk to me? Everything will be okay…"

That was what it took. She turned to look at him, Harry meeting her gaze right on. An eerie feeling came over him when he didn't meet green eyes, but steel, cold, icy, gray ones.

"Okay?" her voice was hoarse and barely audible. "You call this okay?" she reached into the back pocket of her jeans, her fingers curling around a long object. For emphasis she held it up in front of his nose between two fingers; it was a jaw. The jaw of the Tiger. Meanwhile she pulled up her upper lip; the open gap had already been filled with a new tooth.

"Everything okay eh?" she lowered the sharp end into the soft skin of her left arm and before Harry could stop her, she cut herself. A long, red gap marred her arm, blood pouring out of it. At first nothing seemed to happen until he saw the shredded veins, flesh and muscles bend towards each other, connecting. The wound was closed as soon as it was made.

Harry heaved a sigh. "You know… I could say the very same thing… I countered the Killing Curse... Again!" he glared at her from under his bangs "I speak parseltongue and I can cast bright, magic pulses of white light! But am I sulking?"

"At least you were _born_ on the good side!" she countered, malice evident in her voice.

This caught Harry of guard, but he quickly recovered himself. "That doesn't matter Alex! You have a choice; it doesn't matter from which family you come. Sirius was supposed to turn to the dark side and he became a member of the Order! Snape turned to good side again and even Malfoy still seems to be sane in his own weird way! Why should that make you different then?"

"You wouldn't understand!" she snapped

"Why wouldn't I? I understand what you are feeling, how do you think I felt when they told me that I am the only one who could conquer Voldemort. It's either me or him Alex!"

"I know that damn you! Don't you get it? I know everything, I know who your parents were, I know who Sirius was and I know that you are the child of the prophesy!" Drawing in another ragged breath, she whispered "I am born an abomination, with one sole purpose; I am here because I am the one that is supposed to kill you…"

A single tear stroke down her cheek.

Harry reached out and rubbed the droplet away with his thumb. "And four days ago you saved my life."

Alex collapsed forward with a sob, shoulders jerking up at the sharp intake of air. The sounds were strangled and soul-wrenching, so for the second time this week the Gryffindor gathered her in his arms, her head in the round of his neck. Harry realized that he'd never held someone like this before, yet it didn't feel weird or awkward.  
He smiled. It was like… she was his little sister or something. Perhaps that wasn't as odd as it sounded; after all neither of them had much of a family. Let's just say they were on the same level and both needed no words anymore to know what the other felt.

After some time her whimpering died down to a few hiccups and the raven haired boy pushed her away from him so he could look her in the eye.

They were green again.

Another week passed by and Alex slowly recovered, realizing that even though the mere thought about the reason of her existence irked her out, she was able to cope with it. It was hard at first; every time Harry would look at her, let alone smile at her; she felt a pang of guilt. But he had been right: she had a choice.

All that was left of her misadventure were the shadows under her eyes and a pale, lean look. She also tended to drift away with her own thoughts ever so often and when she was sad (although she'd never admit it) she was sadder then ever, even when there was no apparent reason.

The more practical side of this was quite disturbing; it seemed that she got feverish when she didn't use her magic to its full extent once in a while; Alex had promised Snape to notify him or any teacher immediately if there were complications. The First Memory had been brought to her so violently that all her powers had awakened in a single heartbeat. Transfiguring into the Tiger hadn't been on her own accord, it was a purely emotional reaction, the Recovery kicking in afterwards. So after breaking the news about the sudden fevers, they saw to it that she'd change biweekly into her animagus form, under strict guidance of McGonagall.

As for Harry, the teachers seemed to think that the assault was a clear indication that they would have to take more drastic measurements. The extra sessions with Moony were doubled, the one on Saturday remained, but a second one on Wednesday afternoon was added to Harry's already ridiculously packed schedule. The session on Wednesday afternoon would be filled with the study of magic (Remus was hoping on starting Apparating after Christmas, even though illegal, it was for Harry's own safety), the second one would concern physical training and coming Saturday, he'd finally begin with martial arts.

**Tuesday Evening. Divination.**

The green life force pulsated ever so slightly. A primitive form of intelligence, yet also far wiser and even intimidating then one could imagine. A drop of sweat ran down his forehead, over his nose and finally over his lips. Salty. It took everything he had to keep focused, everything else so loud that it distracted him. The way the leaves rustled, the sounds Firenze's hoofs made even if he did not move, the loud breathing coming from the both of them and even his own heartbeat.

"That will do, Finbar."

He slumped back and sucked in a relieved sigh, his chest swelling as his lungs filled with fresh air. Meanwhile, Firenze offered a hand to pull him up, smiling he accepted it. He really, really liked the centaur. He respected his mentor, a person with a strong personality and personal values.

"Amazing! Simply amazing!" he praised the young werewolf.

A blush crept up his cheeks and he diverted his gaze. "Well, I have a good teacher…"

"Nonsense!" The centaur laughed and smacked him on his back "Finbar, you saw the aura of a stone!" he dropped the cool pebble in the palm of his hand.

He absently rolled it around, somehow a little careful. "Such a delicate form of life… I feel like I violated it, something so pure and raw…"

"I understand your sentiments, even more I hope you realize that even though you've been blessed with a gift others wouldn't even dream of, this will be hard…" bright blue eyes locked with ones almost identical.

"No I'm not stopping… but I feel like I should apologize…" he looked at the object in his hand. Everything around him faded one last time as he gently let his spirit brush the consciousness of the stone. He smiled when he felt a very shy, nearly frightened reaction coming from the presence. Feeling through auras didn't require any words, it even barely required any time. It was focusing, separating one from all other presences that offered a challenge…  
You couldn't lie to another like this; feelings, emotions and impressions were ripples of colors, and just like real ripples, you couldn't stop them from affecting others, as a never-ending chain reaction.

"There…" he murmured. "Apology accepted." He shielded his fatigue quickly, his sight blurred after the encounter with the spirit of the stone, by flashing a grin at Firenze's dumbfounded face.

The centaur's eyes widened ever so slightly, indicating pure amazement "I thought you were making a joke Finbar."

He cocked his head to the side "No… not really…"

"How… How does it feel?"

He traced the lighter nerves in the stone with his index finger, almost lovingly. "Feels like finding something you've lost for a long time…" he smiled and his hand closed protectively around the little rock. "Yes, that's exactly how it feels."

Alex cursed and snarled at no one in particular, she must have been very intimidating since even Peeves who was lurking around didn't dare to approach her. Occlumency had been awful; the whole event from two weeks earlier once again fresh in mind. She tried so hard, but the knowledge that it was Snape who was looking into her memories gave her the creeps. She slammed her fist into a nearby wall and cursed at the sharp pain shooting through her knuckles and wrist. She sucked at the droplets of blood blossoming from the bruises, frowning as she felt them mend themselves under her tongue. Looking at her hand, she saw it was healed.

The Slytherin was abruptly broken out of her reverie when she heard a loud, metallic crash around the corner followed by a colorful stream of curses. Holding her breath she carefully tiptoed to the corner and poked her head around it. She hit herself mentally over the head when she saw who it was.

"Finbar, you okay?" she crouched next to him. He'd run into an old, rusty suit of armor and was currently busying himself by kicking and shouting at every piece of scrap metal he found.

A faint blush spread over his cheeks and halted his attack. "Yeah, I'm okay…" he shakily stood up, Alex supporting him. A relieved sigh left his lips when his vision became clearer. "Thanks."

She waved it away and slipped her hand into his, a habit she'd picked up after learning that it helped him. "What are you doing here?" she brushed some dust of his arm "You're in the dungeons…"

"I knew I was going the wrong way…" he muttered.

"Well, you can say that again…" she screwed her smile on and tugged at his hand "Come on, I'll walk you to the tower…"

They made their way back up to the Gryffindor Tower; Finbar in an awful giddy mood, actually a façade to hide his nervousness. He cracked a joke and saw Alex smiling politely, as if she didn't want to be rude. He couldn't stand her like this; so scared and forlorn. No other soul would be able to see it, but as an Empath, he felt every shift in emotion. Carefully, not wanting to startle her, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "C'mon little one… Smile for me?" he pouted "Please?"

A genuine smile spread over her lips at his attempt to make her smile. "Don't be so cute Big Guy…" she prodded him in the chest.

Now it was his turn to smile, while a new blush crept up his cheeks. The rest of their walk was a stark contrast to earlier: laughter bounced off the walls, echoing throughout the stone hallways, chasing after startled spiders; a conversation about everything and nothing, snickering at every little thing, both glowing in the discovery of this new thing between them.

Eventually they halted before a very disgruntled Fat Lady. "This is my stop" he mumbled, regret laced into his words.

A smile crossed her features as she reached out, on the tips of her feet, placing a warm kiss on his cheek "Thanks, Finbar."

Before he could ask her why 'Thanks', she'd dashed off to where they'd come from. He reached for his cheek, touching the place Alex' soft lips had made contact with a second ago. Emotions raged trough his body. Pure and Raw. Like the Stone.

Still smiling dazedly he shuffled into the common room, hand never leaving the place on his cheek.

"Whoa, looks like somebody had a good time out there."

His head snapped up and saw the familiar freckled face of Ron grinning up at him. He and Harry were playing a game of Wizard Chess in front of the fire while Hermione was sitting cross-legged in a large couch a big, leather-bound book in her lap. Crookshanks draped over the edge, tail flicking hence and forth, eying the two young men on the ground with big, round, yellow eyes.

He couldn't help himself and sniggered. "Well, Divination turned out as quite a success today…"

"Sure Finbar. Sure." Ron muttered, brow rumpled as he concentrated on his next move. "You're only, like, 45 minutes late…" his hand ghosted over the board "Aah! Checkmate!" he declared, hand thrusting up in the air.

The raven head rolled his eyes and grunted. "Why do I even bother?" he plopped next to Finbar in the large couch and chuckled at the cheesy smile plastered on the werewolf's face.

Finbar caught his gaze and blushed brilliantly red. "Well, I kinda got lost. Ran into an armor… Alex helped me, guided me up and kissed me on the cheek…"

"I see, and when are the two of you getting married?" Harry chuckled, sarcasm dripping of the statement.

Finbar nervously plucked his goatee "Okay, okay, so it was only a peck on the cheek…" He eyed the emerald eyes boy's obvious skeptical expression. Within a heartbeat he'd wrapped an arm around a suddenly very flustered Harry and whispered huskily "You're not jealous now, are you Harry…?"

"Get off!" Harry protested, trying to escape Finbar's strong grasp.

"Like you want me to!" he countered, Harry trapped somewhere under a pile of pillows and Finbar. He ruffled the already untidy mop of black hair, earning a scowl form the Boy-who-lived.

Hermione giggled behind her hand, knowing where the Empath was getting at and secretly relieved to see Harry laughing so openly again, trying to overpower his obviously much stronger friend.

Someone cleared his throat and whispered "Care to explain me what this is about?"

Ron.

Oops.

* * *

Okay, Okay, so this was not really a happy chap. Well how could I? Anyway, now that we've got the drama-part behind us (one of the drama parts…) we can get on with the romance rubs hands

But more importantly! Let us all bow before Keiko-keket who's been nice and patient enough to beta-read this chapter! Glomps Keiko Yeah, well, just so you know I'm grateful eh? ;

Ah and, I think you ought to know about this: Because of the different responses I got from reviewers and friends of mine, I _was_ briefly considering to couple Finbar and Harry. Why not? Well, just as Wonapalei explained so accurately in his review; the main idea was to _use_ Finbar (poor guy) to let Harry realize he's bi, but it's not because he's attracted that he's in love, so that's why he doesn't act on that feeling. And people seem to think that it should be Alex and Finbar, and once again yes, that was my intention all along. So I briefly considered Harry and Finbar, just so I could have Draco extremely jealous… meh, so I didn't… I have a better idea now which allows me to stick with the main plan, yeah…

Reviews equals me feeling motivated equals more, faster updates. Mmm-kay? Points at review button just click it, won't take more than a minute. Even if you hate it, please do so for me? These reviews are what keep me going! Thank you ;


	13. Pizza and War

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic. **

**By Wihstrum**

**Chapter Thirteen: Pizza and War.**

Ron stared at the Boy-who-lived, eyes wide. His intense gaze was really beginning to worry the latter, so he waved a hand in front of his face. The redhead snapped back into reality and finally spoke. "………..bloody hell….."

Harry sighed, thinking that he just ruined their friendship, and got up to leave. Ron grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the couch. "You don't have to worry, mate…" he shot him a reassuring look "It's just, you know… A little sudden…"

The two young Gryffindors let out a nervous snigger, while Hermione observed Ron approvingly, glad that he understood how much his judgment would matter to Harry.

Meanwhile Finbar hit Harry lazily over the head with a small cushion, catching his attention. "Can't believe you didn't tell him sooner…"

Harry smiled weakly and shrugged.

"Its okay, mate…" he patted his knee "Think I would have reacted the same way." He got to his feet and rolled his shoulders while a sly grin spread over his face "But don't you go falling for me now. Look, I know I'm gorgeous… but it would never work out…"

Harry rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"So…with this new revelation fresh in mind, who're you gonna ask for the Ball?" Ron queried while plopping in front of the fire and motioning for Finbar to join him in a game of Wizard-chess.

"Seriously, I don't know…"

Hermione tore her head out of the book "Please don't tell me that neither of you haven't asked a date yet?" she asked, irritation evident in her voice.

The three young men looked at the ground, the ceiling or their hands.

"I can't believe you guys!"

"Have you?" Harry shot back.

"No, but I bet you know why!"

He cocked his head sideward at Ron, who was completely oblivious to all what was happening around him. Hermione nodded ever so slightly, a pink flush spreading over her cheeks.

Finbar was lying on his stomach, head supported on his hands, while as always, plucking his goatee. "Think she has a date yet?" Everybody knew who he was talking about.

Harry's brow rumpled as Malfoy's face drifted in mind_. Perhaps he'd already asked her? Or she him… Bah… Oh waaait up. Pause. Rewind. Why am I feeling jealous? This is bloody Draco Malfoy we're talking about. _He quickly sneaked a glance at Finbar, but the werewolf was too caught up in the game to have noticed.

**Friday Morning. Potions. Slytherin and Gryffindor.**

It was a rainy, gloomy Friday morning and therefore double potions with Malfoy by his side. Add the additional nuisance in Snape returning tests didn't make Harry exactly happy…

The Gryffindor groaned deep in the back of his throat while he glared angrily at the copy his Potions Master shoved in his hands. A 'D'. And he'd worked so damn hard for it. The paper crumpled under his fierce grasp.

"A 'D' Potter? That's pathetic…" Malfoy drawled next to his ear, his warm breath tickling on his cheek, sending shivers down Harry's spine. With a vague hint of panic, the Gryffindor realized it was the pleasant kind of shivers.

What was it with close contact anyway? He glared at the Slytherin. "Thanks for pointing that out, Malfoy…" he rested his chin on the table, his eyes focused on the evil, red 'D' in the right upper corner of his test. "I'll never make it this year; I've already failed 2 other theoretical tests…" he mumbled to no one in particular.

"May I enquire why you even chose extra potions classes when you so drrrrrreadfully suck at it?" he pronounced 'dreadful' with obvious glee.

"I'm trying to get into Auror training…" the Gryffindor replied mutely.

An amused smirk settled on his face "I wouldn't have expected otherwise Potter, once a hero, always a hero…"

"Shove off Malfoy…"

The blonde snickered and fanned himself with his previously returned test, a curly 'O' stamped on top it.

"Yes, rub it in my face…" Harry sneered, while stretching his arms above his head, relishing the pop of each vertebrae snapping back into place.

Draco tried to look offended "I can't help it that you're not as skilled in the Subtle Art of Potions as I _obviously_ am…"

"Well, if you're _that_ good at it, why not tutor me?" it was out before Harry even realized he'd wanted to say that.

Malfoy frowned "Sure, Potter, of course I will." He coughed "Not."

Draco stirred the liquid drab with ridiculous care; foreign, odd scents bellowing up form it.

"Smells like pizza…" Potter murmured distantly, while chopping frog liver.

He cocked an eyebrow and shifted his interest to his rival. Although they weren't like, friends, a 'healthy' rivalry (shouting spars in overcrowded hallways still included) had settled between them "Pitsaah?"

"Uh-huh, pizza is a sort of flat bread with everything you want on top of it…" he licked his lips.

Draco's anger flared at the sight of Potter's tongue darting out to wet his lips. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of Potter!"

Potter lowered his voice in mock-anger "Insult pizza, insult me."

"Your point being?" he replied dully.

"How can you not like pizza if you've never tasted it before?"

"Potter; _flat_ bread and whatever you want on top of it? Please…"

"I daresay that you'd like it if you ever tried…"

"Right, and the next thing we know we'll get married after we graduate, live in a nice little house by the sea and have a dozen kids running around!"

"You know, technically, the kids-part would be a problem…" Potter pointed out.

"This is the wizard world Potter, everything is possible…"

"Malfoy, I'm touched… Never knew you felt like that about me…" he said, hand clasped over his heart, gazing lovingly at Draco.

"Bloody Merlin Potter shut up! I can't believe we're having this conversation in the first place!"

Draco had to keep himself from drowning the critter in their potion as Potter sniggered dumbly.

"Now what?" he snarled, Potter was really starting to get on his nerves.

"Nothing, just imagining you in a wide, pink dress with blue flowers on it, knitting socks…" he replied casually, lips pouted as he let his knife rhythmically slide through the frog intestines.

He glared menacingly at the Boy Who Lived (soon to be the Boy Who Got in Lots of Trouble With Draco Malfoy) "Now that was a mental image I did not need…"

"Must admit it would be funny…"

"Potter."

"Hmm?"

"Talking privileges revoked for the rest of the day!"

Harry whimpered when Snape announced another theoretical test. His mood definitely had gone into piss off-mode for the rest of the day as he violently stuffed his books in his bag.

Draco rolled his stormy gray eyes and couldn't believe what he was about to say "Okay what about this: I'll tutor you… But!" he raised a finger and Harry knew there was a challenge coming up.

"There's a catch: the test Snape announced is due in two or three weeks… if you _fail _that test, you're to wear a spandex Super-Potter suit for a whole day, somewhat similar to the ones Lockhart used to wear, only tighter and therefore possibly even more ridiculous…."

Harry swallowed, not liking at what Malfoy was plotting this time "And if I pass?"

He scratched his chin, nose rumpling as he thought "We'll make that pitsaah-stuff together…"

Harry stared off into the distance for a short while, running a hand trough his black hair. This wasn't exactly what he'd expected… Well, if he took the challenge he'd be extra motivated to pass it, cause he was seriously not planning on wearing a Super-Potter suit for a whole day… What kind of challenge was this anyway? Malfoy was such a bizarre guy at times…

"Deal." He reached out and Malfoy accepted, shaking hands.

**Saturday Morning. Training Session. **

As usual Moony was waiting for Harry in the Main Hall, the Gryffindor actually quite nervous, since Remus had refrained from telling him who his martial arts teacher would be. They went for their usual jog in the chilly morning air, the grass covered by silvery dew, leaving narrow footsteps where their feet touched the ground. To his surprise they didn't go to Hogsmeade, but turned back to Hogwarts and through the front gate, inside. Up the stairs, up, up and to the seventh floor.

"Uhm Remus, where are we going?"

"Room of Requirement." He smiled at Harry's frown "What where you thinking? Sparring outside at this time of the year?"

The emerald eyed boy's eyebrows shot up in surprise when they entered the room, which had been transformed into some kind of typical Japanese dojo. And then all logical thought flew out the proverbial window.

"…Alex?"

Grinning she moved over to him, barefooted. Her usual oversized yeans replaced by loose, wide trainers and the blouse with Slytherin tie and emblem switched for a tight black tank top. Her long white braid swung playfully behind her. "Quite a surprise eh" she smiled up at him "The t-shirt's gotta go as well as the shoes…" she gestured at the aforementioned garments with a bandaged hand.

Harry still stared.

"C'mon, I'll explain…" she walked back to the far end of the room Harry following behind. In the mean time, Remus got comfortable on the ground, crossing his legs.

"Look, I wasn't kidding when I said that the sole reason of my existence is to kill you…" Alex heaved a worried sigh and crossed her arms, Harry appreciating her harsh honesty, for he'd been lied to way too many times "So, it seems like whatever they wanted me to do, they've trained me well. What happened two weeks ago was merely a beginning… But I've come to decision; I won't stop at any limit to get you ready for the final confrontation. Let's just say that we'll be using his little puppet –me- against himself." She rested her hands on his shoulders, locking their eyes together "You are the one that has to end this nonsense, thus also stopping him from making something like me ever again. He failed to get me under his command, but who knows what happens next time?" her explanation was forced and haste, as if she'd like to get over with it as soon as possible.

"…Make?"

Her breath hitched and she looked down "Anyway, I want you to tell him I said 'Hi'…"

It was like a cold bucket of ice slithering down his back, such was the reality check he received. He understood _what_ she was. There were some details still missing in the puzzle, but he knew now. And he accepted. "Alex..." He caught her hand in his "It's okay."

"I know… that's why I'm doing this…" a sad smile adored her lips, but Harry knew the Slytherin was strong enough to live with the truth. "Enough now, get those shoes and shirt off, we're starting…"

After Alex bandaged his knuckles they started with some very basic moves and warm-ups. He was quite surprised at the sudden change in the young girl, it seemed like Alexs' whole body was focused on what she was doing, and even the smallest movement was performed with graceful and efficient perfection. And yet she looked so relaxed, as if she wasn't even thinking about she was doing.

"Seems like you've got talent." She complemented his efforts while she padded over to a kicking bag. Suddenly she fell into a loose fighting stance and started executing short sharp kicks to a kicking bag dodging it as it swung dangerously back at her from the force. "Kay, now you."

Harry felt a little ashamed of himself, he'd never done this before, not to mention the fact that it was kinda out of character for him. But he gathered all his determination when Alex squeezed reassuringly in his shoulder and gave it a go. It didn't take long before sweat pearled on his forehead and his muscles started to protest. He couldn't believe how _a girl _could make it look so easy. Gently she pointed out what he was doing wrong and more importantly, what he was doing right.

"Kay, not bad, you've been doing some exercise?"

"Sit-ups and push-ups, the usual…"

"Good, good, now double them."

He gave her a dumbfounded look as she grinned up at him with fake innocence. "Nobody said it was going to be easy…" she rolled her shoulders and gave a challenging nod in his direction. "C'mon, let's see what you've got."

_She must be joking._

"I-I don't hit girls…" he mumbled.

"Okay, but that won't stop Bellatrix from Avada Kedavra-ing your sorry ass out of here…" she shrugged and turned to leave.

Before Harry could let out a relieved breath, she'd wheeled around and took a swung for him. He barely dodged it. "Bloody Merlin Alex!" he screamed while he ducked another one. He knew she could hit knock-out him within a heartbeat; she was merely taunting him a little.

"Ah, c'mon Gryffin_dork_! Defend yourself!" she teased.

Harry grit his teeth and put his moral values aside. He tried to tackle her, but she was too fast and before he knew he received a punch to his gut, yet she was careful enough not to hurt him.

"Come on Harry!" she coaxed the Boy-who-lived as she paused her attack for a moment. "You can do better than that"

Harry slumped down against the wall when Alex told him they'd call it a day. His chest heaved up and down, heart pounding against his ribcage. Who would have known what _he_'d practicing martial arts? Stiffly he got up and gathered his shoes and shirt, not bothering to dresshimself properly so he could head to the showers straight away. He had an hour before he had to meet up with Malfoy in the library.

Draco was standing by the doors of the Library, and waiting for Potter to show up. Why was he so nervous? The nonchalance was a carefully practiced façade because if he could, he'd probably be pacing around, an annoying habit he picked up somewhere last year.

One more month and it would be Christmas… he closed his eyes and tried to force away the thought with all the willpower he had. He was not going over this again, he knew what would happen and he knew what he had to do. Luckily Potter chose this moment to come running down the hallway, his jet-black hair still wet from a shower or something.

The stormy eyed Seeker tsk-ed at him "You're late…"

"Sorry, really, but please tell your girlfriend to go easier on me next time…" he saw the blonde's eyebrows shoot up heavenward. "Okay that sounded wrong…"

Draco snickered and waved it away as they entered the library "Girlfriend…?"

"Alex."

He glared at him "She's anything but my girlfriend… So how did the first training session go? Looks like she kicked your skinny ass..."

"You can say that again…"

The library was deserted, so they could work in relative privacy. Draco placed his books on the table and motioned the Gryffindor to sit next to him. Potter plonked gracelessly down next to him, Draco rolling his eyes at him. He leafed through the book and finally stopped at the Potion they'd been working on last week, hoping to Merlin that Potter would remember it.

He shoved a paper under Potter's nose with some notes on. "Try this…"

Draco observed the young man next to him whom was biting his bottom lip anxiously, eyes shooting over the paper. Despite the valiant effort not to think of the dream from last night, it continuously sprung into his mind. The dreams hadn't stopped, in contrary, he dreamed about the Gryffindor every time he dared to close his slate gray eyes and every morning after he'd tell himself that dreams were just dreams. Right?  
_Then why does his proximity affect me so much…? _He shifted uncomfortable on his chair. His only luck so far was that he'd managed to hide it from his white haired friend, although it was getting obvious. He couldn't hate the young man next to him anymore. He just couldn't, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't. Drawn like a moth to a flame… He couldn't even recall why he'd starting developing something else then hate… But he did hate one thing: his weakness.

A long last Potter pushed the parchment back to Draco. His eyes skimmed the Gryffindor's sloppy handwriting. He rubbed his temples, what had he gotten himself into?

"Potter… Please tell me, how you were thinking about making Snakeskin-potion, without the use of Snakeskin itself…"

Potter shifted his weight so he was looking at the Slytherin "Cut me some slack Draco…"

"Okay, I can understand that you're not as brilliant as I am… but if you can't figure out that Snakeskin-potion won't work without the actual use of Snakeskin… then we're having a problem here."

He looked into the young man's emerald eyes, but diverted his gaze immediately when he felt a warm sensation bubbling in his stomach. They were so easy to get lost in. Green pools of emotions. He pulled a sneer to his face before he dared to look at the other again.

Potter merely shrugged.

"That's all you have to say?" he grunted and started to explain the mistakes the Gryffindor had made. It were all stupid little things, probably because he simply ditzy and scatterbrained. When he'd finally finished his explanation, he saw the Boy-who-lived gawking at him in a dumbfounded manner.

"You're not with me are you?" he sighed.

Potter stared off into space briefly, nose scrunching up as he thought hard. "Nope."

Draco braced himself for a long evening.

**Sunday Afternoon. **

Harry followed the way up to the Gryffindor tower on auto-pilot. Although he was exhausted, a contented grin was plastered on his face; Quidditch practice had been brilliant, there was no way Slytherin would win even if the rumors about Alexs' formidable speed and accuracy were true. Ron, Ginny and Finbar were slightly ahead of him, the three of them caught up in a loud conversation, Ron gesturing wildly with his arms, nearly knocking a third year off her feet.  
He could see the portrait of the Fat Lady ahead of him when someone called his name. He turned to see Dumbledore so he signaled for the others to go ahead after he handed his gear to Ron.

Harry sank back in a comfortable couch, fiddling nervously with his hands. He knew that what he was about to hear would concern Alex, his powers and Voldemort. Yeehaw, just what he needed.

Dumbledore poured him a cup of tea, which he accepted gratefully.

"I'm sorry to summon you at such an impropriate moment, but this really couldn't wait any longer…"

Fawkes cooed softly and settled on the edge of Harry's couch. He smiled and absently stroked the fiery feathers.

The ancient wizard rose from his seat, towering over him and the Gryffindor had to admit that he still was intimidating. "The war has begun…"

He knew this was coming, but hearing this of the lips of Albus Dumbledore made it all too serious. The-boy-who-lived closed his eyes. "I know… I was there." he whispered.

Harry opened his slowly opened his eyes again and locked his gaze with the Headmaster. "Most of the lower year Slytherins have been pulled out of Hogwarts. Severus was with us in Ireland, opposing the Death Eaters… So his true position has been revealed, thus proving that all of Hogwarts is opposing the Dark Lord…" he stopped his pace and looked out the window. "They will be leaving during the Winter vacation, most of them are being sent to Durmstrang…"

"Malfoy and Zabini?" The Gryffindor didn't know why his stomach and intestines started squirming, perhaps because he finally was able to talk to his former enemy.

"Surprisingly enough, there hasn't been a word from their parents, but you needn't worry about Zabini, his parents are neutral, so he remains safe." He turned back to Harry with a small smile on his lips "Did you know that Mr. Zabini even attends Muggle Studies?"

He quirked up his left eyebrow; it seems as if there's more to Zabini than meets the eye.

"As for Mr. Malfoy… I've been informed that you two are studying together?"

Harry rolled his eyes, was there anything that the ancient wizard didn't know? "Yes, we are."

"I know you won't be thrilled, but I must ask you to talk to him… Although Lucius hasn't called upon him to be initiated; it won't be long. The attack on Ireland cost them many lives, so they'll be needing new recruits. The last piece of information Severus was able to obtain was that Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle will be initiated during the break…"

He knew he was paling; this was more serious than it sounded. "So, indirectly it my job is to convince Malfoy to stay? To prevent him from joining the Dark Side?"

Dumbledore nodded "I'm afraid that's ultimately what it will come down to…"

He rested his head in his hands; that was the last conversation he'd wanted to have with Draco…

"I'm sorry Harry, I know you don't like this, but we really have to act now… It's always worth a try."

Harry nodded mutely. He couldn't believe this, how as he supposed to begin? Oy, Malfoy wanna join the good guys? That wouldn't work…

"And for something completely different now, I believe that tomorrow will be the first DA-meeting after your encounter with Tom?" he sat back down and handed Harry a second cup of tea.

He ran a hand through his hair "Yeah, I believe it is…"

"You know that there will be a lot more students attending these sessions now?" when Harry nodded a confused negative Dumbledore continued "As I've said, the war has begun and what happened that night between Alex, Tom and you made them realize that _now_ is the time for action, not when it is too late. Harry, most students look up to you now, you've protected the school and more importantly all its inhabitants against Tom that night…"

"Pure luck, I followed Alex…" he muttered, he was not getting into this hero-business again.

Dumbledore gave him a warm smile "I know you don't want to be different and if there's anyone who deserves rest it is you… But even I can't help the way things are Harry. I know I should have told you earlier about the prophesy…"

Harry flinched while a weak feeling spread in his chest. Not again. His head snapped up when Dumbledore covered Harry's hand with his. "I know how you are feeling; I've been there too…"

It was then Harry forgave the old wizard, not forgot, but forgave. And yes, he believed him; after all he was the one who defeated the Dark Wizard Grindelwald…

He nodded, but a weak smile settled on his lips. He didn't regret it when he saw the Headmaster's face lighten up, the lines of pain and worry briefly forgotten.

"What I wanted to say is…" he cleared his throat and it surprised the Gryffindor that this had meant so much to the old wizard "That there will be a lot more students now, please get them in shape as soon as possible, Merlin knows when Tom strikes again…"

"Don't worry professor, I will… I'm planning on getting them ready for a charm Moony thought me back in September…"

"Very well, but if I may do a request; why don't you let them duel tomorrow, if you don't mind I'd love to take a look on the progress…"

Harry swallowed, there would be teachers. "Okay, I guess…" he drained his cup and added "I think you're right, after all, if things get worse, there might be real face to face duels…"

"Let's just hope there won't, but yes..."

There was a brief silence and then Harry whispered "Professor… will Alex be safe?" He didn't really know what he was trying to say, all he knew was that he wanted nothing more then keep her safe.

The lines of worry came out more clearly again "Let's just hope she will be, I don't doubt the purity of her heart, I just hope she can handle the truth. And I mean Mr. Malfoy as well…"

Neither of them knew that the first step to win Draco's trust was already being made…

**Slytherin****Tower**

"Knight to D5!"

Draco narrowed his eyes and contemplated his next move; after all, Alex was a sucker when it came down to Chess. He watched her crack her fingers, an annoying little thing she always did when she was nervous. He didn't say anything about it, it wasn't his business anyway…

"Drake?"

When it was 'Drake' and not Drakie-poo, something was wrong. "What?" he frowned a little at the gentleness in his tone.

She looked up at him from over the board, the fire casting a red glow over her, pronouncing her tanned skin which looked like liquid bronze while her hair resembled thin wires of silver. The reality seemed to split, and he wasn't looking at his friend anymore, but it was like watching some strange, infinitely lovely beast in the Forbidden Forest. She drew in a quivering breath. "What kind of people are your parents?"

His eyes widened, shocked. He hadn't seen that one coming. "Does it matter?" he asked.

Her green eyes never left his as she answered "No, it doesn't." her gaze dropped back on the board.

They remained silent for the next half an hour, only speaking to make a move. At long last he beat her. "My mother's a lonely woman…" he spoke softly as he tucked away the game. "She and my father had an arranged marriage. That's normal amongst pure-bloods…"

He leaned back on his elbows, his eyes following the swaying of her braid as she settled down in a nearby couch, leaning on the edge so she could look at him.

"My father…" he eyes focused at a point in the distant dark "My father is a Death Eater in the Inner Circle of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named… has been for as long as I can remember…" his eyes closed as he awaited her reaction. None came.

"What?" Alex murmured.

"Nothing." He looked her in the eye, leaving his mind open for her "I just thought that you'd be shocked, certainly after what happened a few weeks ago…"

She tilted her head to the side, strands of white hair tickling her cheeks. "That doesn't make you the same as him."

"Why wouldn't it?" he watched her stand up and walk over to him, painfully close as she crouched before him.

"You have a choice." She smiled and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind his ear, a weird sort of protective gentleness accompanying the gesture.

He didn't understand. Why… was she looking at him like that?

He nearly fell backwards as Alex abruptly leaned over to him, her mouth next to his ear as she whispered "Guess we have something in common after all…"

**Monday Evening. Room of Requirement. **

Harry paced back and forth in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and his ballet dancing trolls, the thought about his DA-classroom droning on and on in his head. On his third pass a door appeared out of thin air on the opposite side of the tapestry. He let out a relieved sigh and opened the door. Everything back to normal, no more dojo. Cushions ready to undergo any kind of treatment and bookshelves filled with all kinds of books. He smiled faintly when he saw the flickering of the whistle in the torchlight and reached out for it. He sank down in a pile of silken pillows, and heaved a sigh. He was so nervous!

Dumbledore had been right. The class had doubled, if not tripled. First of all there were: Ron and Ginny, the two remaining Weasley's, then came Hermione, obviously, followed by Luna and Neville, then Dean, Seamus, Padma, Parvati, Colin and Dennis, soon after Zacharias, Ernie, Justin, Anthony, Terry, Lavender, Susan, Katie, Michael …

He couldn't help but smile as the elder DA-members were to arrive first. He was talking to Neville when he suddenly gasped for breath when his eye caught the next pair. Cho and Marietta. He could hear Hermione growl somewhere behind him, but he silenced her with a stern look and took particular care to smile in their direction, letting them know they were welcome. Right now, nothing was more important than forming a united front with the whole school.

Finbar shuffled in some while after, he'd been avoiding DA-meeting so far, his Sight too messed up in the overcrowded class-room when he'd tried the first time. He quickly scooted over to stand with Ron and Ginny. After that was their new chaser Reya Letser, followed by Jack and Andrew, their Beaters.

He was getting really anxious when Dumbledore entered, accompanied by McGonagall, Remus and Flitwick. In short, most of the fourth till seventh year Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepufs gathered in the classroom, which seemed to adjust itself to the greater amount of students, leaving enough space to let them all practice.

Eventually the one last person who he'd been waiting for entered; Alex and with her a very annoyed Blaise, who in his turn drew many suspicious glares. She tugged mercilessly at his wrist, the brown haired youth shooting daggers at whoever dared to stare at him.

The Gryffindor waited for another 10 minutes, making sure that everyone who wanted to attend was there. His voice wavered a little when he spoke up "Thanks for gathering here tonight, welcome to those who are new and thanks to those who came back…" his eyes rested on Hermione who nodded at him reassuringly "This evening we'll be dueling, don't worry, I'm not going to pair up those who've only joined tonight with an elder member, I'd just like to see how far each of you are. After all, I must get each one of you ready for the war, we all know, that is coming…"

"Beautiful speech Potter!"

Startled, he lifted his gaze to the door and there, leaning against the doorframe, was a very smug looking Draco Malfoy clapping his hands.

"Dear Merlin, lowering yourself to the likes of us?" he replied, all though he couldn't help smiling when the blonde walked in as if he owned the place.

"Just keeping an eye out so you don't mess everything up…" Malfoy said placidly, beginning to walk towards Blaise, whom seemed to have retrieved his grin again. And on Alexs' pretty face was a genuine smile as she gave her housemate a wink.

Typical Draco, making a big entrance like that, probably late on purpose. With that, a big burden was lifted from his shoulders, hoping that this would make 'peace-negotiations' with the Slytherin easier. He couldn't resist one last glance at his rival. His breath stuck in his throat as he met the slate-gray gaze right on. "A-Anyway…" he stammered helplessly "I want all of you to pair up, after that I'll pick a couple out randomly…"

Quite surprised, he saw everybody settling with a partner. And so he began systematically picking out a pair, observing their duel, correcting mistakes and commenting on what went well. He purposely left the elder DA-members till last. Three hours passed by within a blink of an eye and finally he'd let the last two newcomers duel as well most of the elder DA-members, but Harry had saved some special exceptions to end with…

"Well, that went quite good. I think that Mo- eeh Professor Lupin did a good job." He smiled at Remus' surprised face when an affirmative mumble rose from the group.

"Okay, Hermione, do you mind going next?"

The bushy haired Gryffindor smiled at him while Ron tagged behind her, ears pink. Their duel was quite astonishing, to say at least. Hermione blocked successfully one spell after another while Ron on the other hand hit her head on with a wide variety of charms and curses, all very strong ones, but lacking in his defense, forcing him to dodge his own spells bouncing of Hermione's shields… that was what finished him at long last, hit by his own stunner.

After that came Ginny and Finbar, the werewolf obviously not happy with this, after all, everybody knew to watch out for her curses. And as assumed, Ginny was one raging ball of Weasley when it came down to it, Finbar having trouble countering her simple, but vicious curses. Suddenly he grit his teeth and started transfiguring one thing after another, from simple cushions to books he summoned from the shelves, eventually he beat her simply by transfiguring a cushion into a blanket, blocking her view, forcing her to give up.

Neville and Luna were next up. This was fierce and fast duel, Neville's determination surpassing everything he'd seen before, firing one curse, hex, charm or jinx after another, giving Luna a hard time to do anything else then blocking and dodging. He ended it with a strong binding curse, leaving Luna defenseless and beaten.

There were only three more to go; Alex and Blaise, whom had paired up. And Draco. Alone.

"Blaise, " The Gryffindor said, catching his attention "You sure you wanna go through with this, she's a wandless…"

He waved it away and murmured "I know, thought I'd give it a try nonetheless."

They took their positions and before Blaise managed to get the first charm over his lips he was hanging upside down in the air, Alex nonchalantly polishing her nails.

"Looks like this is not going to work…" Harry sniggered and turned to Draco "Seems like you better pair up with him."

The blonde grinned at him "Afraid, Potter?" he murmured, mimicking his words from their duel in second grade.

"You wish…" he countered, his grin never leaving his face as Draco _did_ do what he'd asked; taking Alexs' place.

The Animagus meanwhile carefully lowered a very pissed off Blaise to the ground, scooting over next to Harry, seeking his defense.

It seemed like Blaise was gifted in Charms, while Draco surpassed in curses (who would have thought different?). But the stormy eyed youth was fast, very fast, not even one of Blaise's Charms managed to get to him, the latter cursing out loud shamelessly. But Draco surprised everyone when he didn't finish his friend of with an ugly, vicious curse, but with a simple tickling charm, leaving Blaise sprawling on the floor, shouting and damning him between fits of laughter.

"So, that only leaves you…" he smiled at Alex, whom had a rather nervous look on her face. "Want to try?"

"Against you?" she whispered.

Harry shrugged "Yeah sure, why not?" he frowned at her shivering sigh.

"You trust me enough?"

"Oh don't give me that again, c'mon!" he grabbed her sleeve and pulled her into the circle the students had made, handing his wand to Ginny in the progress while his partner left her wand in Draco's care. They took positions, smiling at one other. "Ready?" he asked.

Alex nodded and braced herself.

"Oh and Alex? No tigers please…" he said casually.

"Wanker…" she murmured, but the corner of her mouth pulled up in a lopsided grin.

As if on cue they both stretched out their palms and soon after unspoken spells shot through the air. The whole classroom and its students were enveloped in one bright flash after another, it was like a dance; they moved perfectly together, dodging and attacking. Briefly, Harry broke through her defense and the curse hit her cheek, leaving behind a small cut. It was then that Alex suddenly ducked the stream of spells, only to reappear behind him, his head in a death lock. Startled Harry gasped for breath.

"Got you…" she snickered in his ear.

He held up his hands in surrender "Okay, okay!" rubbing his neck as her grip loosened, eventually letting him go.

"Oh, beaten by a girl, Potter…" Draco shook his head gleefully, his blonde hair tickling his cheeks as he did so.

"You got a problem Malfoy…?" he narrowed his eyes and stalked over to him, yet a grin settled on his lips.

"As a matter a fact, I do…" The Slytherin replied, an amused smirk on his face. The whole class held their breaths, staring at the two house-rivals, not knowing whether or not it was for real.

They pressed against each other, chest to chest, both trying to bore the other into the ground. It was then that Harry realized with some amusement that his rival was about 1/4 of an inch shorter than him. "Shorty…"

Draco narrowed his eyes "Shorty?"

The tension thickened and if you'd taken a knife out and sliced it vertically, you would have heard the sound of tightly strung cords snapping.

Draco shot the Boy-Who-Lived a 'Draco Malfoy Death Stare of Doom Deluxe (something he'd been practicing for emergencies like these…) and raised himself completely, boring his eyes into Harry's green ones. A smile played across Harry's lips, returning Draco's glare coolly. Neither of them would ever know when the glare turned into something far more intense than that.

Time seemed to freeze and everything else faded.

Draco could _feel _their hearts beating in unison, as if they had been all along. His eyes fluttered shut as the Gryffindor's damp breath tickled over his cheeks, the full lips parted slightly. He smelled like rain.

_Nononono__, this can't be happening… _

Harry was trembling on his legs, unable to divert his eyes. He didn't see Malfoy anymore, no; he saw another person… he saw Draco. His skin as pale as moonlight and silken hair hanging freely around his face, the angry scowl seemed to have disappeared, he looked innocent, a person he had never seen before. His heart was hammering so loudly in his chest he -shook- with it and he couldn't quite understand why he felt like crying.

_This can't be happening, not him, can't… _

_ Make it go away! _

_He hates me, wants me dead…_

_ I can't stand you! I'm stronger, I am not weak! I hate you!_

_I'll die. I can't leave, I'll die. I'm home. Home._

_ I need you… make me forget. _

Shaking all over his body, Harry forced himself to take a step backwards, fighting the tears which were burning when he saw Malfoy scowling, his forehead creased as if something unidentifiable were bothering him. His eyelids slid open again, revealing the deep slate gray eyes, different, not cold, but something else… something Harry was sure of that there were no words to describe...

"It's late…" was all he managed to say, the pain in his chest so deep, that it felt like he was dying but all the same he'd never been so alive. Another step backwards.

Draco just stood there, eyes still locked with his. There was a hint of mild panic on his sharp features. When he finally dropped his gaze to the ground, Harry turned his back on him and left the classroom.

Alex tugged at Finbar's arm, breath caught in her throat, almost unable to speak, the pain of the two young men -her best friends both for a different reason- vibrating through her body. She felt like fainting. "Is it just me, or did they have a moment there?" she whispered.

The blue eyes of the werewolf didn't leave the young man standing there paralyzed where the other had left him. "Definitely…" he murmured. Even without using his second Sight, he saw raw pain surrounding the Slytherin, as real as a cloud.

* * *

Well, this was a long one… I really hope you guys like it really really do, please leave any remarks and such… You know I live on your reviews (Pathetic, I know, can't help it…).

I think a few thank yous are in order, cause you guys are wonderful!


	14. Getting to the Point

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ** **Wihstrum**

**Chapter fourteen: Getting to the point. **

Nervously, almost frantic, Harry paced hence and forth in his room. A hundred thoughts were swimming around in his brain and he couldn't grasp one of them. This was wrong, really, really wrong. He barely suppressed the urge to scream as Draco's pained expression came back to mind. What was going on here? This was his rival, his archenemy; sure, they've been getting along better now, but this?

Shower. Yes, showers always help…

Harry rested his forehead against the cool tiles, the warm water pouring down his back, over his nose and cheeks, pooling on his bottom lip. At long last he sank back against the wall, sitting down, water still spraying. Now this was, for once, too much. He was absolutely sure that prophesy hadn't said anything about falling in love with your archenemy. Oh wait, not the 'L' word, not yet. Maybe this was just some prank gone horribly wrong (Thinking about pranking… he ought to get Alex back for that humiliation during their duel…). Maybe they'd made a mistake during potions? No, impossible, Malfoy was his partner for potions. Ack! Again with Malfoy!  
With an annoyed swipe he removed some black hair plastered to his forehead. Even a shower didn't work…

So in a last ditch effort to calm his frazzled nerves, The-Boy-Who-Lived was creeping through the deserted hallways, Invisibility Cloak draped over him.

**Meanwhile… **

Right after 'the moment' Alex had saved her friend from another humiliation, she was guiding him away from the questioning stares, even though it was far after curfew when they'd gotten down here at the lake; watching the stars come out and Alex was secretly on a mission to get to Draco admit his feelings, she knew now of course, but she'd play naïve, pretending nobody had noticed. Well no one probably had, except for Finbar and her. Alex knew if she didn't watch her tongue, she'd shatter the delicate friendship between the two of them…

Draco picked up a smooth pebble and skipped it across the lake.

"Fascinating." Alex murmured, her head resting on her knees.

"I know."

They sat in a comfortable silence for about half an hour, Draco discarded his shoes. Alex broke the soothing silence, when she thought he'd calmed down enough to talk. Draco Malfoy wasn't as hard to understand as everybody thought he was. Yes, he'd been brutally trained to uphold the whole aloof, over-the-top, egoistical yet charming Malfoy-façade… but it was actually quite easy to look past his whole act. At least she could; she was absolutely sure he felt cornered, so he tended to lash out with his tongue. Draco also wasn't a person who got physical –scratch that- he had trouble getting physical when he meant it. He felt weak for caring.

"Draco, you need a girlfriend."_ CoughboyfriendcoughHarrycough…_

A perfectly mortified expression slid on his face "Why?"

"You just do. Perhaps if you had one you'd loosen up a bit." She replied casually. He was actually quite easy; he'd already taken the bait…

"I already loosened up. A lot. You're even making me doubt whether I should be a Slyhterin after all."

"You should be, but that doesn't mean you always have to put up that false mask when in public."

"I don't… put up… masks." He spat out every word venomously.

His friend raised an eyebrow.

Silence.

_Darn Alex, too smart and observant for her own good. I'm not letting her get any closer though. I'd be weak; she'd be my weak spot. But I already care for her, I'm weak already. Besides I bet she'd laugh at me when I told her what's been going through my mind._

"Snap out of it Draco." Alex scowled, sensing his retreat. "You don't have to hide from me. I might not have been your friend for that long, but I really do care."

He just stared at her while the corner of his mouth made a spastic upward move. Odd, was that a –real- smile?

"No but really, you _are _a stud-muffin, in the bloom of his life and you're still single?" she commented him, trying to lure him out of his shell.

"Sue me." He sneered, but had a hard time to suppress a pleased smirk.

"Later. Why?"

"I dunno. Maybe I don't want a nagging chick around my neck all day." He snapped at her, he didn't like this interrogation. Certainly not after what had happened two hours ago.

"We don't nag Draco sweetie, we _care._"

"The same."

She rolled her eyes heavenward "No it's not and don't change the subject."

"I just don't need any girls okay. Your kind freaks me out."

"You need boys then?"

"NO!" he snapped just a little too hard.

Alex pursed her lips, her white strands of hair lazily drifting in the evening breeze. She was close, very close.

He drew in a breath and composed himself "No, I don't _need_ boys and I'm just not in a very commitment-kind of state, period, time… thing."

"You're gay." _Touchdown! _

"…What?"

"You're gay." She repeated, smiling. "I should've known." _I already did, but you needn't know that…_

"I am not gay."

"Ah," Alex nodded, "denial."

"No, I'm just not gay."

"Sure you aren't."

Draco plucked a leaf out of the grass and fiddled with it. "Do I look gay?"

"Except from the whole fashion and hair-issue?" she grinned at his affronted scowl "Nope."

He groaned and thought _Good,__ I feared it was getting obvious._

"So you admit?" she leaned closer and studied his features while he furiously plucked at the ill-fated leaf.

He hissed while a very un-Malfoyish blush crept on his cheeks "Why were you able to catch that?"

"Your frustration cancels most of your barriers against me."

He sighed, admitting his defeat "So…you don't mind?"

"What's to mind?"

"Well… the whole… gay… taboo… thing." He scratched his neck.

She arched her white eyebrows "Right."

"No really, some people find it disgusting."

"Do _you _find it disgusting?"

"Obviously not." He couldn't suppress the urge to roll his eyes.

"Aha! So you really do admit."

"It's useless. Can't even hide my own underwear form you" he frowned "which you happen to find _so _hilarious." He added irritated.

"No my best friend, they freak me out. And it weren't just any kind of undergarments. It was a thong. With hearths." She looked completely irked out.

"I suspect Pansy was the one who sent them last Valentine." He frowned.

"That gal's got issues." She muttered.

"Uh-huh."

"But, you're avoiding the **real** subject here." She leaned over, pinning him under her gaze and asked "Who is it?"

"I don't know." He muttered in a not-wanting-to-have-this-conversation tone.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, how did you find out then?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake Alex…" he breathed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"No for Draco's sake." She grinned at him sweetly.

"Hn."

"Well?" she prodded him in the side; she'd found out that Mr. Malfoy was, in fact, really ticklish.

He gulped and arched his torso away from her. "I had a dream okay?"

"Aaaah a dream… I get it." She winked "About?"

"The obvious."

"Harry?"

He threw his head back in expiration. "No Alex, about sex!"

"Yah du'h… but I meant about _whom_?"

Draco looked at his watchless-wrist "Look at the time, we have classes tomorrow."

"You don't have a watch."

He scowled, stood up and strode over to dip his feet in the water, the icy water sending shivers down his spine. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"About…"

_I can't believe I'm telling her._

"Hn…"

_Please don't laugh at me._

"Potter"

"He does have a first name though. Hell won't freeze over if you use it."

Draco didn't answer. He just buried his toes under the sand and shrugged.

Suddenly he felt a hand on is shoulder. He closed his eyes and let out a barely audible appreciating sigh. He'd come to cherish Alexs' little gestures of friendship and affection, but he'd rather run around naked in the Quiddich pit than to admit it… Actually, to be honest, he couldn't really stand other people touching him… probably because of the lack of physical contact in his youth. Alex had been the first one to touch him, even hug and hold him without him flinching away. Potter had proved to be the second one… yet his touch sends another kind of warmth through his body, disturbingly enough.

"Hey… you're my mate. And I really don't think it's weird."

He flinched and clenched his fists. _Tell that to my father.._.

He felt Alexs' body heath pressing against his back as she wrapped her arms around his waist, whispering, head resting on his shoulder "Your father's just a retard."

Harry pulled his robes tightly around him and sighed. He had been damn lucky that he'd been the only one awake after DA, the dueling had worn everybody out; he wouldn't have been able to sneak out otherwise. Especially Hermione had been looking at him in a knowing manner, not to mention Finbar. He folded his cloak over his arm, enjoying the cold night air as he felt the fog in his mind evaporating. Right now he'd just wanted some time for himself. Sort things out. He strolled over to the lake to sit at the same spot where he'd been grieving Sirius before summer. But there was already someone there. Alex…and Draco.

_Why? Whywhwhywhy? How is it possible? Better run for it…_

He must've made a sound because Alex looked over her shoulder and murmured "Oh, hi Harry." She grinned up at him, mischief twinkling in her eyes "What can I do for you?" Malfoy simply glared.

"Nothing" he smiled weakly "It's just…."

Alex tilted her head. "We're on your spot?"

"Actually… yes"

"I'm sorry, should we leave you be?" the Animagus smiled understandingly. But a plan was already being formed; she just hoped she knew Drake well enough.

"We?" Draco scowled "If you wish to go out of the way for the all-wonderful-and-almighty Potter, you go ahead. But I'm certainly **not**."

Harry grunted, annoyed… Why couldn't bloody Malfoy just go drown himself in Moaning Myrtle's toilet?

"Sod off pretty-boy." Alex cut in while nudging Draco to stand up. _Bingo, I knew he'd protest. _

"No I'm not." He crossed his arms.

"Well then why don't you stay here have a nice, civil talk and comfort each other." _Kisskisskiss_

"Me and Potter?" he breathed unbelievingly.

"Why not?" Alex retorted.

"We hate each other." Malfoy reminded her.

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"No, you don't, you told me so about 7 point 20 seconds ago."

"He did?" Harry interrupted.

"Oooooh. Low blow." Draco shot her a dirty look.

"Well this should be an interesting conversation. Oh look at the time, I gotta dash." She rose to her feet and turned to the castle "Wouldn't want to miss a good game of exploding snap."

"You don't even know how to play exploding snap." Draco retorted, but she didn't hear them.

_Or pretends she doesn't hear me._

"Mind informing me?" Harry frowned down at him.

Draco just grunted.

_No problem lad. I've been having a few very erotic and spicy dreams involving you and me committing a deed of sexual intercourse. _

Harry sat wearily down next to the Slytherin. Something was really off here; Malfoy, sitting here in the middle of the night -not to mention the fact that it was winter and freezing out here-, his trademark smirk not in place, hair still wavy and shockingly gel-less. He tried to analyze the expression on the sharp angled face. Was that loneliness?

The Gryffindor courage made Harry ask what was wrong.

"Just… leave. Kay?" Draco had a distant look in his eyes and huddled further into his warm robes. His head was bent forwards, staring at the ripples on the lake, reflecting the pale moon in the sky. A wisp of hair had fallen carelessly across his cheek, and Harry thought that his countenance made him look small and vulnerable. He tried to force these thoughts out of his brain, fearing that the urge to hold the young man close and to kiss the pain those gray eyes held away, would win over.

Harry sighed. He remained silent for a few more minutes before muttering something under his breath.

"What?" Draco turned his slate gray eyes at him.

"I don't hate you either."

The Slytherin stared openmouthed at him while Harry drew patterns in the sand with his fingers. After a while the Gryffindor got tired off Draco gawking at him. "Stop looking at me like that; it's giving me the creeps…" he shot a meaningful look sideways "Anyways… For about five years of my life I've really, but then again REALLY disliked you. You've been a real asshole…"

"Touching."

"Shut up, let me finish. But seeing you and Alex and spending some time with you…" Harry carefully chose his words. "You seem like a nice person."

The Slytherin raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah well. You've really been acting like a complete jerk past five years. Not mentioning the way you treated my friends…"

He waited for the other boy's cruel jeer, but it never came, so he hesitantly went on. "But after you gave me back my mirror… you've changed, in a good way I mean… and you know… Alex really seems to think you're okay, defending you and stuff."

Silence.

The black haired boy glanced at Draco whom was looking pointedly away. "She really likes you… you know?"

"I know." Came the soft reply. He spoke with a voice Harry had never heard before, it sent shivers down his spine and in a silent prayer he wished he could someday hear his name in the exact same way rolling from those lips.

"Are you two an item?" Harry whispered barely audible. Better know now and get over it than to find out later on when he couldn't forget anymore.

"Like hell we are!" Draco sneered.

Surprised -and barely able to keep himself from dancing around in joy-, Harry looked at Draco whom returned the gaze. "No really, we're just like… friends." A corner of his mouth tugged in an upwards direction "Yeah… she's my friend." He repeated, more for himself than for Potter.

Harry smiled. "That's….nice." Not sure of what to respond.

"It is." Draco confirmed and looked at him. "She brings out the better side of me."

"I've noticed." Realizing that Malfoy looked _very_ attractive when smiling… Did he ever mention that the Slytherin had very kissable lips? _Bad Harry! Bad Harry! I sound like Dobby now… isn't this just swell? _

"You should smile more often, it suits you." He blurted eventually without thinking.

Draco looked incredulous.

Harry quickly rose to his feet, attempting to escape the intense stormy eyes.

"Aw… leaving already? I was just starting to get this warm, fuzzy feeling." His voice dripped with sarcasm but he let a gentle grin light up his face to ensure the other he was only kidding.

"Let me tell you something" Harry began. "I trust Alex. And I trust her judgment and we really shouldn't be fighting in times like these. And spending time with you made me realize that you're a different person than you like to pretend you are…" He took a deep breather and held out his hand to the young man perched on the ground.

"Friends?"

Draco just stared at Harry's hand. Just when the emerald-eyed Gryffindor wanted to pull back, thinking he'd said something obviously retarded, Draco took his hand and looked up to him.

"Friends."

He pulled him to his feet and after Draco collected his shoes, they returned to the castle in a companionable silence.

Tired, Draco entered the common room, if Potter thought this new friendship would make him feel better, well it didn't. Not that he didn't want to… just… he couldn't deny it anymore, not to himself at least.

_Good Merlin, I've got it bad…_

He heard a weird strangled gasp and before he knew it he was tackled, lying on his back on the green carpet (with Slytherin emblem motive), Alex sitting on his chest and pinning him down by his shoulders. _Alex: Details, NOW!_

_Draco__: Alex, it's 3 in the morning for crying out loud… we've got classes tomorrow…_ he scowled, is that girl annoying or what?

_Alex: Don't make me turn you into a slug! Tell me!" _

_Draco__: Alright, alright, just stop bouncing!_ He thought back, sitting upright abruptly, Alex toppling over. _Draco__: We're friends…_

Her jaw dropped and her eyes expanded comically "That's all?" she yelled out loud now, not able to contain herself any longer. Once again he was knocked over, Alex pulling at his collar, shaking him like a rag doll, his teeth clattering "Please tell me that you at least kissed him!"

"Alex, let go!" he shoved her away "Dammit what's gotten into you?"

"I can't believe you two are so dense! I mean, I practically gave you guys the perfect set-up and you didn't even kiss him?"

"We shook hands…"

"Oh, wonderful, just great! I'm really proud now!" she stood up and paced around in front of the smoldering fire, muttering under her breath, he vaguely picked up things like 'men', 'stupid Gryffindors' and 'dense'.

If there was one thing he'd never understand it was women. Especially Alex.

**Saturday Morning. Room of Requirement. **

"Defense Harry! Defense!" Alex yelled at him, the Gryffindor replying with a grunt as he blocked yet another blow.

Alex had to keep herself from smiling as she saw Harry's jaw setting, determination evident in his eyes. He really was the child of the prophesy. Sweat was pearling on his chest, his black hair windswept, she knew he was exhausted, yet he refused to give up. Although he was –very- good, she wouldn't tell him since it might make him overconfident.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon!" she urged him, trying to get him pissed off. The trick was to use your emotions, pouring them into your moves and yet not being carried away by them.

"You could block that one!" she scoffed at him when he failed to parry her.

He growled "My glasses keep falling down my nose, can't see…"

She abruptly halted her attack and raised an eyebrow. His chest rose and fell, rapidly, yet he was perfectly composed. Livid and rough. _Draco__ only settles for the best. _She smiled faintly and muttered a spell under her breath, green eyes locked with ones similar.

"S'kay now, take them off…"

Hesitantly he slipped them off. "Odd…" he murmured as he blinked a few times. "How did you do that?"

She shrugged as she fell back into a loose fighting stance. "After 15 years of training, one picks up a thing or two…" before he could reply she already lashed back out at him.

"Go easy on me, we've got a Quidditch match tomorrow…"

She snickered evilly "Reason the more to wear you out; I'm planning on winning…" a wolfish grin curled her mouth.

**Sunday.**** Quidditch Match, Slytherin versus Gryffindor.**

Harry closed his eyes and heaved a thrilled sigh. God how he loved this. He was far to excited to be nervous, he'd missed this so much. The whole stadium roared and the cold wind tugged at his fiery scarlet Quidditch uniform. Even after Alex had taught him the sight restoration charm, he refused to part with his glasses. Harry had tried to explain to her the comfort of the familiar weight on his nose, but…  
He opened his eyes only to meet Draco's gaze, eyes as gray as the sky. The pale eyebrows arched and he nodded; a sly smirk on his face. His heart skipped a disturbing amount of beats.

"Shake hands!" Madame Hooch barked at them, as Ron and the Slytherin captain approached each other, trying to crush each others hands under the fierce handshake. Normally Ron would have yelped, but right now a new glint was evident in his eyes, something Harry'd never seen before.

His eyes landed on Alex, a euphoric expression on her face as if she couldn't care anymore about winning or loosing. Her white hair was braided back tightly, her green uniform whirling around her. She looked good in a Quidditch uniform, he noted absentmindedly.

"Mount your brooms…" Madame Hooch's piercing gaze drifted once more over the two teams before she blew her whistle.

Within a second Harry saw Ron soaring to the hoops out of the corner of his eye. He had to divert his eyes, urging his broom to go higher and higher. He barely dodged a Bludger and knew he had to blame either Crabbe or Goyle for it. Draco in meanwhile was a few meters below him, his blonde hair curling around his head like a halo.

"Slytherin in possession, Alex Ladon heading for the goal… Damn that girl's fast… she slips by Katie…" Dean shouted over the roaring cheering coming from the spectators. "And she scores! Keep an eye out for that girl Gryffindor!"

Harry sighed, knowing he owed her 5 galleons for scoring the first goal, not to mention she did it within the first minute if the match… A nervous twisting settled in his gut and he began looking more frantically for a golden shimmer.

"Gryffindor's new chaser Reya Letser is in possession of the Quaffle, she tosses it to Ginny Weasley, who picks up speed… she's nearing the hoops, she tosses it Katie whom… Scores! Katie Bell scores! It's 10 – 10!"

The raven head had to keep himself from jumping up and down like an idiot, ecstatic as their Chasers who, unlike the Slytherins, were working together as a team. His eyes scanned the Pitch below him, but no sign of the Snitch.

"Montague has the Quaffle… but loses it due an perfect Beater-move from Andrew, but it gets caught by Alex. There she goes again, soaring past the Bludger Jack sends towards her, and she… misses! Beautifully blocked by Ronald Weasley, my roommate by the way ladies and gentlemen…"

The altered version from 'Weasley is our King' erupted from the supporters in the stands. Harry whooped, soaring past Ron and giving him a thumbs up.

His stomach clenched when he heard Dean's terrified shouting "Draco Malfoy has seen the Snitch! Harry where the hell are you! Stop him!"

"Dean!" McGonagall scoffed at him, yet her face suddenly went as white as a sheet.

He launched his Firebolt to Draco whom was soaring into the direction where he'd seen the Snitch, somewhere on the sidelines… The Gryffindor went into a steep dive, actually a free fall, inching in on Malfoy, wind rushing in his ears, the sound deafening. At long last he was side to side with his rival, Harry flat against his broom. He was going to catch that Snitch or die trying… Draco apparently thought the same, since he picked up a frustrated snarl coming from next to him.  
They both reached out… suddenly the Pitch turned upside down as Draco collided with him by some unseen force of impact. They both landed with on the ground with a loud thud.

"Disaster prevented or caused by Jack Sloper…" Dean announced; shock evident in his voice.

Harry spat out some grass, while he heard Draco moan besides him. A tremor of worry ran through his body when he saw him laying flat on his back, making no move to get back up on his broom. He'd taken the full impact of that Bludger. He scooted over to him "Draco, you o" but he was cut of in the middle of his sentence as the blonde sat up abruptly, nearly ramming his head against Harry's.

"I was this damn close!" he muttered in disbelief, his fingers an inch apart as he gestured at Harry. "You do realize I have to kill your bloody Beater now, don't you?"

The Gryffindor let out a relieved snigger. Meanwhile Katie and Andrew landed besides him. "You okay Harry?" they cast an angry glare in Draco's direction, as if he'd planned this. He opened his mouth to snap at them, but Harry silenced him by hauling the other seeker to his feet.  
He grinned innocently at his teammate's reactions, mouths hanging open at the gesture. "What?" he muttered, as he mounted his broom again, kicking off.

"The game's still going on Gryffindor! Watch out for Too late…" loud cheering bellowed from the Slytherins "Alex Ladon scored a second time… 20-10 for Slytherin…"

He rolled his eyes as he saw the only girl on the Slytherin team shoot past him, her wolfish grin in place. He shook his head and concentrated back on his task, where did the Snitch go?

The game went on well past lunch, the two houses battling fiercely, never more then a mere 10 or 20 points apart. Ginny was making up for the occasional Quaffles Ron missed, even though he was doing great. Alex was as good as she was rumored to be, but the lack of team spirit in the Slytherin team was a great disadvantage; more then once she broke out in a torrent of curses and shouts as they failed to back her up when she needed them. It was 80 – 60 for Slytherin.

Finally Harry spotted the tiny fluttering Snitch, gold flickering in the weak November sun, on their half of the pitch, a few meters from the ground. He pointed his Firebolt in a forty-five degree angle and dove.

"Harry Potter has seen the Snitch! He dives…" Dean shouted enthusiastic. The whole stadium gasped for air.

Within a heartbeat his rival was on his tail, pressed against his broom, a haze of silver and green. Alex stopped in mid-flight the Quaffle forgotten, eyes wide as she urged Draco to go faster at the top of her lungs.  
Only a few more meters, only a few more meters was the mantra droning on in Harry's head. Tears leaked out of his eyes, wind cutting in his face. He reached out and could feel the tiny wings brush against the tips of his fingers as the tiny ball arched out of reach. An angry shout left his throat and he pulled up recklessly, making some sort of looping… He could see the haze of Draco's Quidditch robes as he shot by and past underneath him, confused by the sudden change of course. Still hanging upside down he grabbed in the air where he saw a golden glint and was rewarded with the fluttering of the frail wings against his palm.

"Harry Potter's got the Snitch, Gryffindor wins with 110 – 80!" the rest of the sentence was drowned by one wave of cheering and singing after another.

He howled in delight and made his way down to the ground in a sloppy manner; jumping of his broom, tripping over his feet while he raised his fist in the air, the Snitch batting furiously to escape his grasp. His teammates threw themselves at the Seeker, ruffling his hair and patting his back. Ron was clutching him somewhere from behind chanting a 'thankyouthankyouthankyou…', Ginny and Katie kissed them both at a time on a cheek, while Jack's hand was wrapped around his, both holding the Snitch.

Alex swooped down not to far away from him, and strode over to him. Everybody immediately on their guard, thinking she'd hex him into oblivion, quite the contrary; she smacked him amiably on the back. "Great flying! But you owe me 5 galleons!" She added, crossing her arms.  
Harry grinned wildly at her, before being once again buried under a pile of over enthusiastic housemates.

The Slytherin snickered softly and crossed over to Draco, who was looking as if his birthday was cancelled. She slid an arm around his shoulders as she guided him to their changing rooms, her friend muttering something about 'this damn close… so close… so damn close…'

Hermione ran down and onto the field, a bright smile on her face. But she froze in her tracks as she saw Ron being surrounded by a herd of girls from all houses, plastering kisses on his face, giggling and batting their eyelashes. Her heart sank into her shoes. _Seems like he has no need anymore for a date to the Ball…_ she thought. Well, Hermione knew she shouldn't have expected so much, after all. He only saw her as a friend, a member of their gang, Hermione. Simple and plain Hermione. She pressed her eyes shut, forcing tears back and angry at herself for being so upset. She was about to leave the field, when she felt a gentle tugging at her wrist. Startled, she turned around. Ron; his ears suspiciously red, stuttering incoherently. The group of girls left behind and forgotten, packing together while glaring at Hermione, hissing and snorting.  
The Gryffindor keeper heaved a sigh, praying for all the courage his house was known for and sank onto one knee.

"Mione…" he whispered; eyes locked with hers. "Would you want to be my date for the Ball?" he finished, loud enough for everyone to hear him. He knew he probably flushed a horrible, unnatural shade of red.

She felt her cheeks burning "Oh Ron…" she breathed, before flinging herself around his neck, toppling them both over.

This earned several catcalls and cheering from the students other than the affronted pack of girls. Harry whistled while Ginny was hanging from his neck, bouncing uncomfortably up and down on his shoulders, making it hard for him not to lose balance.

**Library.**

At long last Alex strolled in as if she had all the time in the world. Hermione was tapping her fingers impatiently on the tabletop, nearly driving Finbar insane whom was sitting opposite of her. She really was starting to take after Draco; although neither of them seemed to notice… it went from little gestures like arching an eyebrow or rumpling their nose when they concentrated to the way they walked (even though Draco was far more elegant than Alex) or smirked. It was starting to get scary. The biggest difference was that Alex was far more open-minded, caring and social then the Slytherin prefect.

"You're late!" she scoffed at the Slytherin, obviously irritated.

Alex clearly wasn't intimidated and merely shrugged, seating herself next to Finbar. "I'm here now ain't I?" she replied dully.

The Gryffindor muttered a 'Slytherins!' before getting to the point. "Any idea why we've called you?"

Her friend nodded; the wild, white hair whirling around her tanned face, the enormous grin sliding on her face as she said "Drake and Harry."

Finbar chewed thoughtfully on the end of his tattered eagle feather quill before he whispered "Hermione and I are planning on given those two… a little push in the right direction." He grinned "Interpret that in whatever way you want…"

"Finbar!" Hermione huffed.

Alex snickered "Boys will be boys 'Mione…" then she leaned in conspiracy-like "How? Cause it won't be easy, both of them are as stubborn as a donkey with diarrhea…"

"What have donkeys with diarrhea got to do with being stubborn?" Finbar asked; an amused smile on his face.

Her green eyes twinkled merrily. "Something Blaise always says… guess I picked it up…"

"Anyway!" Hermione said, the tone in her voice demanding their attention again "That's why we've asked you up here… You know Draco better than we do…"

Alexs' nose rumpled "He's really uptight… The biggest problem is that Drake always wants to compete…" she shot them a meaningful look; her hand to her chest "I herby quote Draco Malfoy…" she cleared her throat "I won't bow down to anyone…" she echoed in a snobbish manner.

Finbar couldn't help but laugh out loud now "Let's just hope for Harry he doesn't mean that literally…"

"FIN-BAR!" Hermione yelled.

Alex chuckled quietly behind her hand before deciding to save Hermione this kind off topic… "I got a plan…"

The pink flush on Hermione's cheeks ebbed away as she turned her attention to the Chaser.

"The Ball…" she hissed.

Finbar raised a dark eyebrow at her, waiting for further explanation.

"…aaand Firewiskey." She confirmed with a nod.

The second dark eyebrow joined the first, half way up his forehead. "That's not going to work…'

"Not to mention that it's not fair." Hermione added.

"Dear Merlin you guys…" she rolled her green eyes "I'm not going to get them drunk… I'm only going to loosen them up a bit… get them talking."

Hermione looked a bit skeptical, but Finbar scrunched his nose up before nodding. "Just to get their 'tongues' (he wagged his eyebrows) lose…"

The brown haired girl huffed and crossed her arms "Okay, but on one condition: they still have to know what they're doing… I don't mind them easing up to talk, but they both have to realize what's going on."

The wolfish grin on Alexs' face was tucked away and she reached out to cover Hermione's hand with hers. "Hey, you know they both are the best friends I have… heck the best friends I ever had. But you must realize that neither of them won't give in if we don't help them along."

Hermione smiled back sweetly. "I know… but I don't want Harry to get hurt."

Alex pouted her lips. "If Drake hurts Harry in any way whatsoever I'll personally castrate him… do mind that it goes the other way around too…"

**Last Friday before the winter break.**** Great Hall. Breakfast.**

Harry snickered at a joke Ron made, the sounds muffled cause he'd stuffed his mouth full with bacon. Suddenly the chatting and laughing in the hall died down and it took Harry a while to realize that all eyes were on him. Okay, not only on him… as he looked up from his plate, a bit startled, he saw Draco waltzing over to him, a huge grin on his face. And he promptly sat down next to him.

"Morning Mr. Potter" all tables were listening intently and a few nodded knowingly while others glared darkly at Harry. "What about some last minute drills on your Potions test?" Draco wagged his eyebrows

The Gryffindors tried to stare Draco into the ground, preferably dead and buried, so imagine their surprise when Harry smiled (yes he actually smiled at Draco Malfoy!), took out some notes and started chatting (not shouting, sneering, snarling or insulting) with the Slytherin about a test. What was wrong with those two? Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy did not sit together willingly, not without the aid of duct tape and super glue.

Finbar briefly allowed himself a grin and shot a wink at Hermione, the latter with a smug look plastered on her face. "They really don't have a clue yet, do they?" she whispered next to his ear.

"Nope, not a clue…" he muttered.

She shook her head and drained her cup off tea "Men can be so dense!"

Finbar arched an eyebrow and glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "Thanks."

"Sorry Finbar," she patted his shoulder "Even you…"

Before he could swat her over the head, his attention was drawn to the two young men while they stood up, Harry frowning as Draco was thumbing trough a dusty old volume. It didn't escape anybody that the blonde rested a hand on the small of Harry's back, leaning closer to him and jabbing his finger at a certain passage in the book.

Their friends from both houses scrambled up and hurried after them. Draco halted his explanations as they caught up with them, an annoyed snarl on his face. "Potter, please tell your sidekicks to shove off…"

Before Ron was able to retort something about sniveling, bouncing ferrets, Alex swat the younger man over the head. "C'mon Draco sweetheart, do grow up."

He glared at her "Who are you to tell me what to do?"

"Please forgive me Draco love." She bowed slightly, while making a ridiculous twirl with her hand.

"And stop imitating Pansy. She alone is annoying enough."

Alex' eyes widened in mock surprise and her hand flew to her heart in over exaggerated drama. "Are you telling me that you don't _like _dear Pansy?"

"Outrageous." Ron mumbled sarcastically.

As if on cue, Pansy's voice rang trough the hallway. To Draco, it could have been someone scraping his nails over a blackboard.

"Draco love, we ought to finish our conversation from this morning."

"Quick! Hide me!" Draco ducked behind Alex, obviously drawing even more attention to him.

"Why?" Alex smirked. "Oh, you surely don't need _my_ help to protect you from Pansy-dearest?"

"Yes I do, she wants to talk about the Yule ball." He whimpered at the thought.

"Ooh this should be an interesting conversation." She rubbed her hands in anticipation.

Pansy had crossed the hallway up to their little group. She raised her nose at Harry and his friends. "Drakie, what are you doing here with them?" she spotted Alex. "And her?" she said with even more disgust.

Alex blew her a kiss.

Pansy harrumphed and turned her back to them "Well Draco, to continue _our_ little conversation, I'd like you to know that I'm still available. So you can stop worrying." She tugged at his collar and batted her eyelashes "So, ask me out."

"Well… eeeh … I eeeh…" Draco stuttered helplessly.

"Oh surely you didn't find someone else now did you?"

"Are you inquiring that Draco couldn't get someone else then _you_?" Alex added amused.

Pansy looked confused. "Well, did you ask someone else then me?"

Draco hadn't. He weighed his options; invite Pansy or jump trough that window over there. Pansy raised an eyebrow and chirped "Drakie-pie?"

_Ok, window it is._

"Yes he has!" Alex butted in.

_Oh Alex, do shut up…_

"Who?" Parkinson demanded.

Draco glared at the green-eyed girl. "Eeeh… I've asked…you know…" he scratched his neck and took the occasion to shoot daggers at Alex again; the latter taking particular interest in straightening her robes.

"Well?"

"He asked me." Alex murmured casually, a sly grin on her face.

"You?" Pansy shrieked.

"He did?" Ron asked.

"I asked you?" Draco frowned.

"Yes. You. Did." Alex went to stand on his foot. "You know…Yesterday evening…"

"Ooooh!" This time it was an 'oh' of dawning understanding.

Alex smiled and nodded. "Yeeeeees.."

"Ooh, yes _of course_ I did. Heh…heh." He nervously clasped Alex' hand and kissed it. Alex kissed his cheek.

"I though _we_ had something Draco…" Pansy sniffed dramatically. "You'll see the error of your ways. You'll come back to me after you've seen what she really is like." And with that, she stormed back to the Slytherin dungeon.

"Eew I kissed you" Alex wiped her mouth with her sleeve while Draco gave his cheek a similar treatment.

"Okay remind me why I said that?" she pouted.

"Because you think I'm utterly gorgeous and handsome." Draco stated, nonchalantly admiring his nails.

"Snowball's chance in hell you are. Besides…" she turned to Finbar "I wanted to ask you."

Finbars face lightened up "I wanted to ask you too…" he shot 'the look' at Malfoy.

"But we can't risk Pansy getting your hands all over you, now can we?" she asked Draco.

Draco nodded furiously. "I really owe you Ladon."

"You bet you do." She grumbled.

"How can I repay you?"

"Put on a tutu and dance the Macarena for me?" he batted her eyelashes hopefully.

"What about… no?"

"You're no fun." She pinched his cheek "But don't worry _Drakie_ I'll find something."

"Spare me."

"As a matter a fact you can start by apologizing to Ron and his friends…"

Draco stared at her, fuming. "What?"

She put her hands on her hips. "You heard me."

Draco looked unbelieving at Ron as if Alex asked him to kiss the Gryffindor. Alex poked him in the ribs and he was barely able to suppress a yelp. He looked at the young woman again and shook his head, but Alex wouldn't have any of it and pulled her chin up a notch "I apologize…" he groaned eventually under his breath.

"I can't hear you!" she said in a singsong voice.

"I said… that I apologize." He said through clenched teeth.

"Once more, with feeling!"

"I, Draco Malfoy, hereby apologize to Weasley..."

"Now shake hands."

Draco scowled and shook Ron's hand, the redhead eyeing him warily. "There."

She smiled. "Well, we'd better be off to Potions then..."

* * *

Well, I reallyreallyreally hope you guys enjoyed this one… it was sooo long O.o

Anyways, you know the drill: review! review review review review review review review review review review review review review review review! Catch my drift?

Thank yous will be up for the next chapter! It's because of you guys and your lovely reviews that keep me motivated… I really try to get the best out of every chapter.

And once again, I apologize that I'm only getting into the romance now… But it'll be good, I promise! snickers  
The Winter Ball will take up whole chapter 15… it's in progress and I want it to be good. Really good.

Applause everyone for my wonderful beta! Poor Keiko-keket had to read all 16 pages and correct my awfully dumb mistakes. All hail to Keiko! Hail! Hail!


	15. The Winter Ball

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic. **

**By Wihstrum**

**Chapter Fifteen: The Winter Ball.**

And so came the day of the Second Yule Ball. Harry surprised everyone by asking Luna Lovegood, it happened quite un-purposely, after their last DA-meeting of the trimester. After class she'd stayed to help him clean up the mess and they started talking…

_Flash-back _

Harry crossed the room, arms overladen with pillows. He dropped them on top of the staple in the far right corner and flopped on top of them. It was so tiring, teaching all those students. Hard work. It was a rewarding job though, every time he saw someone conjuring a Patronus or defeat a previously stronger member… he felt so proud for his classmates, a sense of unison had settled between all off them.  
Well, not all of them… most pupils still had a hard time accepting the three Slytherins. Alex was one thing, but Blaise and certainly Draco were another thing entirely. Systematically he paired up with either one of them, most of the time it was Alex, since both she and him were wandless. But on a very rare occasion he paired up with Draco and he couldn't deny that he loved it. Needed it.

Meanwhile Luna sat down next to him, staring at him bluntly.

"What?" he murmured; a soft smile on his lips. He had to admit that he had a soft spot for her; he guessed it was because of their conversation back in June. Somehow, in her own way, she understood him. And oddly enough, he found that her eyes resembled Finbar's; Knowing Eyes, an older soul in a young body, wiser than any others their age.

"You're in love." A statement, not a question.

And just like Finbar, she always managed to catch Harry off guard with things like these. "Huh? What makes you think I am?"

The expression on her face remained unchanged, save for the left eyebrow she arched "The look in your eyes."

"Oh…" he shook his head, confused "With whom?"

The look on her face broke and a sweet smile curled her lips "You'll have to find out yourself…" she got up to her feet and straightened her robes. "Who's your date for the Ball?"

He snorted "Haven't got one…"

Luna tilted her head sideward, the permanent startled expression pronounced more clearly.

"No really…" he muttered "Quite a lot girls asked me though… but I don't know." He shrugged and got up next to her.

"No wonder, you've grown into one of the most handsome guys of the school." Another statement, no compliment.

She was so weird; he decided to ignore that last remark; it was Luna after all "What about you?"

Briefly, very briefly he saw another feeling linger underneath the light blue surface of her eyes. "Nobody ever asks me." She shrugged "That's just how it is."

How could she say that without blinking an eye? He didn't understand though… yes she was different, but she was nice and pretty in her own way. And interesting to say the least. He snapped out of his reverie as she waved him goodbye while making her way to the door.

Quickly he shot after her and fell into pace next to her "Luna? Would you be my date for the Ball?"

If Luna had looked a fraction of a degree more surprised, her eyes would have popped out. "Eh…" she blushed "Well… yes, thanks!"

_End flash-back _

So here he was, trying to tame his wild black hair, but the more he tried to pull the comb through, the more it would stand out. At long last he decided to ditch the useless efforts and sat down on Ron's bed instead, an amused smile on his face. Ron, Ginny and he had gone shopping on their last visit to Hogsmeade, Ron's sister being bombarded as their fashion and style consultant, which was a good thing.

"Nervous Ron?" he murmured as he saw his friend fumble helplessly with the buttons of his vest. The redhead shot him a pleading look, the knots in his stomach too tight to glare at him. "Breathe Ron, breathe…" Harry said as he buttoned his vest for him.

"What if she doesn't like it? What if she thinks I look like an idiot? What if she changes her mind? What if" he stammered.

"What if, Ron, what if?" the raven head brushed a sleeve of Ron's dark, midnight blue dress robes. "What if Voldemort had marked Neville instead of me?"

Ron's fidgety look abruptly left his face and he shot him a stern look. "Don't say things like that…"

Harry stepped back and met Ron's light blue eyes "I know. Sorry."

He patted Harry on his upper arm. "S'kay mate, I understand."

Before the emerald eyed boy could reply something, Seamus threw the door open "C'mon you guys, we're running late… Can't keep the ladies waiting." He added with a huge grin; the Irish man and Dean both accompanied Lavender and Parvati.

The two friends gave a nod, heaved a sigh and followed out after Seamus. They were joined by a gorgeous looking Ginny in the Common room, whom had turned Dean down (and several other guys for that matter) and accepted Neville's clumsy invitation instead.

They descended the stairs and entered the Hall, were most students were hovering around. Harry had to admit he was pleasantly surprised when he saw Luna heading towards him, dressed in a long, pale purple dress with little black flower-embroidery around the hem, her blonde hair pulled up in a bun, a few stray strands brushing her face. She looked good, but so un-Luna. He jumped when someone, definitely female, whispered in his ear: "Thought I might help her out a bit…" He was quite surprised when he saw Cho Chang, his fifth year crush and ex-girlfriend, smiling up at him.

"Huh?"

"I'm glad you asked her out..." She winked "You look good by the way." She added.

Harry couldn't help a blush creeping up his cheeks. "Thanks." He mumbled.

"You wouldn't have seen my date by any chance, have you?" she asked light-heartedly as if nothing happened last year between them.

"And who would that be?" he asked and couldn't quite suppress a hint of annoyance coming through.

"He didn't tell you?" she looked a little put out, lower lip pouted out slightly. "Finbar's my partner."

"Oh?" Harry grinned slightly, remembering how the werewolf had changed the subject whenever dates came up "I didn't know… he's bound to around here somewhere…"

Meanwhile Luna had crossed the Hall over to them. "Guess I'll better go looking then…" Cho murmured before touching his shoulder and smiling. Harry merely nodded. Whatever feeling there had been for the Ravenclaw, it was gone. He waved as she parted with them and turned to Luna.

He clumsily held out an arm for Luna, gesturing for her to hook in "Let's get going then?"

_Alex: I can't believe I'm going with you! _The Slytherin growled as the two of them made their way up to the stairs, swaying slightly and clutching at Draco's arm to prevent herself from losing balance.  
_Alex: Do I really have to wear high heels?_ even her mental voice sounded whiney.

_Draco__: Alex, sweetheart… you were planning on wearing sneakers under it…_ He pointed out, while he slipped an arm around her slim waist as they approached the Hall. _Draco__: Don't go falling down the stairs now, mind my reputation._

"Prat." She mumbled, following his lead.

She hopped up and down -much to Draco's annoyance- when she spotted Hermione and Finbar arguing heatedly about something. Or rather Finbar was gesturing wildly, while his friend nodded a little mutedly. Forgetting about her pained feet she dragged Draco over to the Gryffindors.

"Something wrong?" she asked them, gaining their attention.

Finbar's jaw dropped and suddenly found it very hard to form coherent words. She was breathtaking. Her gown was actually very simple, completely black, the dress pronouncing every well-formed curve of her body. Her white hair was pulled up in an untidy, wild knot, several strands dangling in her face, but it suited her perfectly. No jewels, no make-up. Pure and raw.

Draco arched a pale eyebrow as he saw the Gryffindor gawking; he smirked amused and subtly cleared his throat behind his fist. He couldn't blame him though; no one could argue with Draco on his taste, because he'd been the one to pick her outfit.

Finbar snapped out of his daze and stuttered "H-Hermione be-believes that Ron won't like her…" he muttered helplessly and gestured at his friend.

The Slytherin prefect rolled his eyes. Women. What was her problem anyway? She looked stunningly beautiful. The dress was pure white, and very much like Alexs': simple, yet falling around her body in the right way. Her long brown hair was a neat version of Alexs', perfectly tamed and he vaguely remembered that she'd done the same thing two years ago. A white rose was tucked into the knot. _Oh hell. Did I just think of Granger as beautiful? I'm going for a lie down. _

"Oh for fuck's sake Granger." He shook his head and snarled "You look acceptable. There, go tell Weasel that Draco Malfoy said that himself. Now shove off…"

As harsh he was, it seemed to cheer her up, hearing that from his mouth must have been one of the greatest compliments she'd ever received. A grateful smile was directed at him before she ran away, looking for Ron.

Finbar nodded his head approvingly. "Good job, Malfoy, now if you'll excuse me…" he gave a last wink in Alexs' direction and was off as well.

Alex nudged his ribs rather hard "Aah… getting as soft spot there are we?"

"Shut it Alex. Shut it." He snapped.

Alex snickered in her own tomboyish way, and hooked her arm in his. If he only knew, if he only knew.

Ron was positively drooling when he saw Hermione. It took several sharp nudges with his elbow to get him back into the real world. When he finally saw Ron blinking again, Harry reached over to Hermione and kissed her quickly on the cheek. "You're beautiful."

Mione reached up to her cheek, startled at Harry's unusual gesture "T-thanks."

Suddenly they heard a familiar baritone voice behind them "I think Ron likes her too…" Finbar commented, waving his hand before Ron's face, whom had drifted off again to happy land. Cho was standing behind him trying to peek over his shoulder, Finbar not really taking notice. "So, Harry, how do you like my outfit?" he cooed girlishly, twirling a lock between his fingers.

"Positively edible." He stated and sniggered at the dark youth's startled stare, pleased with himself to catch Finbar off guard for once.

"Good lad, Harry!" he replied at last "You make me proud…" he pretended to wipe a tear away, hands clasped as if he were looking at his son.

"Huh? What?" Cho came in between.

Harry saw his perfect chance to part with this failed relationship once and for all. And he agreed with Finbar, he didn't need to hide anymore. He was who he was, and he already knew he'd always have friends by his side to back him up "Oh you didn't know?" he said nonchalantly "I'm gay."

He could barely keep himself for bursting out in laughter as he saw Cho's baffled expression.

"So you finally gave up on the bisexual-thing…" Finbar tilted his head to a side.

"Yeah… Figured I liked guys more than girls anyway. I almost feel sorry for not asking you out."

They started to follow the other students entering the Great Hall, leaving Cho standing where she was, mouth still agape. Finbar's gigantic grin was almost scary. "I think we scared her off!" he smacked him on the back "Brilliant! Thanks."

"No prob… but you do realize the whole school's going to know about this within the next hour." He whispered, starting to get worried. Okay, it had been fun to play along, give Cho a trauma and come out of denial. But what now, it was too late now. He could already see the heading in the Daily Prophet of tomorrow morning "Harry Potter, boy-who-lived: a pouf!" followed by a whole article about his midnight rendezvous with shady guys in the forbidden forest.

"Don't give me that face Harry… Besides, it would have gotten out one day and then it would probably be accompanied with all sorts off nasty stories about you harassing first years."

Harry agreed inwardly and tried to ignore the tight knots in his stomach. Ron had picked some empty chairs and a table set back from the dance floor, obviously not really thrilled about the idea to dance. They devoured several snacks, chatting and laughing. Actually, it was quiet a gang: Ron and Hermione, Finbar (still alone), Ginny and Neville, Dean and Lavender, Seamus and Parvati and finally Luna and Harry himself. Somewhere during the conversations, Finbar purposely dropped the 'secret' about Harry's sexuality. And surprisingly enough, they took it in quiet well, save for jokes and embarrassing questions. He still didn't know how to react, but eventually he managed pretty fine, and when he did freeze after all, Finbar was there to back him up. God was he glad that he could call the werewolf a friend.

"Want a chicken wing Finbar?" Seamus offered him, but there was more behind the question. Harry knew the Irish man long enough to tell. The statement had been loud enough to draw the attention of their little gang.

Finbar paled "I…I'm a vegetarian… remember?"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot." He took a bite from it himself and then said, grinning winsomely up at him "You know… It's quite odd, a werewolf being a vegetarian…" he added as an afterthought.

Finbar was positively green right now, his breath coming out in quick puffs. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Seamus smiled and patted his back "Oy mate, don't fret, I think all off us already knew…"

"H-how?" he whispered. Lavender was rubbing his arm, trying to assure him.

"Finbar, we have a werewolf as teacher. You always go missing around the same time; you both grow an enormous amount if hair around the full moon and you're running out of excuses…" Seamus explained with deafening logic.

"Seriously, stuck in the toilet?" Parvati giggled and threw her hair back.

"We just wanted to wait until you told us yourself; but it seemed like Seamus couldn't wait any longer…" Hermione said with a distinctive glare at the Irish boy.

Seamus shrugged "Well, as we've all been revealing secrets," he cast a amused look in Harry's direction "I thought it was time to get it over with."

"You changed." Harry told him, a small smile on his lips. This Seamus was far more mature than last year's Seamus, thank Merlin for that.

"I'm still sorry for last year. I figured that some things are more important then others…" he muttered a little sheepishly.

Exactly this delicate moment the little band chose to play a song. Several students started asking their partners up the floor, so Harry decided to ask Luna as well. Besides, all his other friends were going as well. He drew in a breath as if he were going to fight a battle; he'd never been graced with dancing skills. With some regret he left their safe little corner and into the mass of twirling, swaying and dancing students. With growing anxiousness he noticed all students parting for the two of them, whispering and giggling. Eventually he halted somewhere halfway, no longer able to ignore the circle of shocked onlookers. This was it.

"Is it true?"

"Will you date me?"

"Are you in love?"

"Would you like to dance?"

"You're so cute!"

He was bombarded with all sorts off questions from all directions, and he didn't really know where to look first. So this went a little different than expected. Finally his gaze landed on Cho, somewhere in the back of the group; she winked at him and gave him a thumbs up. She'd done this. He let go of Luna's hand and made a beeline towards her, students shuffling out of the way. He halted right before her and felt very sorry for trying to make her feel bad earlier on. Awkwardly he smiled at her. "Thanks."

"Hey, it's okay." She blushed "I really gave you hell last year didn't I? I hope it isn't my fault you… well…"

Harry sniggered, not caring whether or not the whole school was listening or not. "Heh, I certainly doubt so, I wasn't really a perfect boyfriend to you either, wasn't I?"

Cho chuckled "Forget about it Harry." She gave him one last smile "You owe me a dance!"

His evening couldn't be ruined anymore; Harry found out that there were more people who cared for him that he'd ever dare to dream off. Luna and he got along wonderfully, their dancing was rather clumsy and involved lots off harassed toes, but it was fun nonetheless.

Harry retreated halfway through the evening, seating himself inconspicuously somewhere at the side. He sipped absentmindedly at his pumpkin juice, his green eyes observing the sea of dancing students before him. Luna had accepted a dance with Neville, and Harry didn't mind at all, he didn't want anything more than to avoid the stares and glances he'd been receiving.

_So damn hot in here…_ he discarded his vest, undid his tie and opened a few buttons. He knocked back the rest of his pumpkin juice and felt much better instantly. Letting his head drop back, he noticed that the bewitched ceiling showed a clear night sky, dotted with sparkling stars and the moon hidden beneath a thin film of cloud.

He jumped out of his reverie when he heard a scrape of chair legs somewhere next to him. Somehow he wasn't surprised when he saw who it was.

"Here…"

Draco pushed him a glass in his hands and he accepted it wearily, swirling the drink –which had an odd bright orangey color- around in the goblet. Harry raised a doubtful eyebrow at the Slytherin next to him.

"Wanker." Draco said on a sigh, pulled the drink back out of his hand and took a swig from it.

Taking the glass back from the blonde, he peered in it again, shrugged, and downed it like Draco had before him. He sprayed half of it back out, coughing and gasping for air. He tried to catch his breath, spluttering, wondering why exactly that drink had felt like liquid fire scorching his throat and stomach.

Draco clapped him on the back, sniggering "Didn't know you were a FireWiskey-virgin, Harry…" he said in mock-innocence.

Immediately the Gryffindor stopped coughing and choking, slowly raising his head to look him in the eye.

"What?"

"Harry."

"Bravo, that's your name!" he said in a distinctly patronizing tone.

"You called me Harry."

"The horror." Draco replied, rolling his slate gray eyes, looking at him with all the superiority he could muster. Why did the bloody Gryffindor have to be so good looking tonight? Shamelessly he ran his critical gaze up and down the young wizard before him. Draco rarely saw him without his Hogwarts uniform, long dark robes or standard Weasley jumper.  
Right now he was starting to have a fair idea of Harry's real looks, his clothes didn't exactly leave little to the imagination: his dark gray collared shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows opened with every breath around the three or four undone buttons down his tanned chest. He was muscled, a fortunate consequence of Quidditch training (and Alexs' brutal martial arts sessions), tall and lithe. He was built as a Seeker usually was, lacking in any real brawn but making up for it in athletic poise. His skin had an olive, even tan all over his body. His hair was windswept as always, the brilliant green eyes once again burning with emotions. But those glasses!

Harry shifted uncomfortably when he noticed that Draco was studying closely with an expression of utmost concentration. His pale eyebrows drawn together and the innermost corners of his eyes contracted as he squinted at his rival. "Something wrong?"

"I've said it once, and I'll say it again: those must be the most hideous glasses I've ever seen!"

Startled Harry tilted his head to the side.

"Are you aware that you can ask a sight restoration by any capable medi-wizard?"

"I already know one." As demonstration, he repeated the long-winded spell under his breath, and slipped of his glasses. Harry blinked a few times as Draco's face slowly came into focus. "There."

For a moment Draco forgot to breathe; the eyes seemed to shine with some sort of bright inner light. "Why don't you just leave that spell on?" he asked with some venom in his voice, trying to cover up his 'moment' there.

"Guess I'm used to these glasses… can't help it…"

Draco nodded, one corner of his mouth curling into what could easily become his classic sneer, but it became as a crooked smile. "Guess I could understand that…"

_Right.__ This is the moment to ask, you'll never get another chance like this. _Harry insisted on himself, where the bloody hell was Gryffindor courage when you need it? "Draco… eh… could you please meet me outside at the lake at midnight? I've got something to talk about…"

"Why, Mr. Potter…" he clutched his hand over his chest. "It that a date?"

"Oh, fabulous, so you know too…" he muttered and decided he really could use another FireWiskey.

Draco rolled his eyes "Oh the drama!" If the raven head only knew, but Gryffindors _were_ dense after all.

"Anyways, will you do it?" Harry asked, sidetracking the conversation back to where he wanted it.

"If you don't grope me, I might."

As promised, Draco got up to leave ten minutes to midnight. Blaise and Alex were caught up in some sort of debate about a book Draco didn't really care for; The Hoppit… or Hobbit? Something like that anyways. Reading was hobby, or maybe even passion, he didn't share with his two friends. He'd always found that reading was very uncharacteristic thing for Alex and her bustling, violent, energetic personality. On the other hand it left her a mystery he'd never really solve. Blaise was just Blaise, hilariously enough he sometimes adopted the 'suffering poet' look unconsciously. Oddly enough some chicks seemed to dig that. Blaise was oblivious to all of it, he wasn't a ladies man, and actually Draco used to take on that role. Well, that was hard now wasn't it? He was gay.

"I'm off… I have to meet somebody at the lake…"

Blaise looked up at him, while a huge grin slid onto his face. "Woohoo, I was wondering what was taking you so long this year? She hot? Who is she? Please tell me it ain't a Hufflepuf…"

Alex swallowed nervously as she felt Draco's discomfort. They still hadn't gotten to tell the brown haired youth that Draco wasn't really interested in ladies anymore. "Blaise?" she nudged him "Blaise?"

Draco observed the pattern on the floor with great interest "Anyway… I have to go… see you guys later…"

Blaise hooted and yelled at Draco's retreating back "Make us proud, boy!"

Alex rubbed her temples and murmured "I think its time you and I had a little talk…Sit down Blaise, sweetheart, don't know if you want to be standing when I tell you this."

The brown eyed youth's grin left his face "Oh… it's that kind of news…"

She took his hand and led him to a dark corner with some chairs for more privacy. They sat down and Alex patted his hand "Didn't you find it a little uncharacteristic… Drake's…chastity…?"

Immediately Blaise picked up the thought "To say the least! To have given no hint of interest in any girl this school year and it's raising eyebrows."

Alex clutched his hand more firmly now "Blaise, darling, Draco's gay."

Blaise blinked as his expression became perfectly mortified "He's gay? My best friend's gay?" he jumped up, yanking Alex with him in the progress "Dear Merlin… Fucking… Oh holy… and I … we …him… we bathed together! Naked!" he paced around and looked positively ready to kill any lower year unlucky enough to pass that moment.

"Blaise, sit down! For crying out loud, he's not after you!" Alex hissed.

"He isn't?" he asked, his voice higher than usual.

"No…" she paused consciously and crossed her fingers behind her back "He's after Harry."

He clasped his chest and let out a sigh "Oh… Oof, for a moment there I thou"

Alex closed her eyes and counted to three. _1 2 3…_

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" Blaise's outburst caused large numbers of birds in the forbidden forest to take flight.

Meanwhile Draco had made his way to the lake and he could already make out the dark silhouette of the Gryffindor. He wondered what the hell this was all about. He halted next to Harry, his gaze joining Harry's on the lake.

At long last Harry heaved a sigh and started "I'm sorry I'm bringing this up now, trust me, I'd rather be dancing and enjoying myself than to talk to you about this particular and mostly sensitive subject…"

"Oh jolly, the whole Good vs. Bad war-lecture…" he smirked as he saw Harry's startled face "I wondered what was taking you so long. You are a Gryffin_dork_after all…"

Harry didn't know whether to smile or not. So he'd already seen this coming. "Yeah, well…" he couldn't find the words, how was he supposed to ask the only Malfoy heir to join his side while his daddy wanted him roasted. "I…we…"

"If I would like to join the good guys, yadayadayaa yes Potter, get on with it… we don't have all night." He sneered. Damn was he annoyed.

"You're not exactly making this more easy, Draco…" he retorted. He vaguely realized that this wasn't going the right way.

"Look Harry, I don't expect you to save me." He said abruptly.

The raven head drew in a quivering breath; it meant more to him than he would have thought. "Thanks."

Draco just snorted and crossed his arms, this better be over soon. He was not in the mood.

"So… What do you think?"

"You really are lacking in social skills aren't you?" he remarked with his usual icy drawl. Then he scratched the back of his neck and prepared for something he'd never done before "Listen, cause I'm only saying this once and I'll probably deny it later on… I am not exactly 'happy' with the situation at home. My parents don't love each other, heck they don't even really like each other. My father goes missing every once in a while, and let me assure you, seeing your father coming home with blood stained hands is not what a four year old wants to see."

Harry stared at him, slightly abashed.

Draco ignored him and continued "When you put my dad in prison this summer… I…" his breath got caught in his throat "I… I was free." He finished and looked back at him, gray eyes locking with green ones. "You already did save me." He said it as if it was some sort of reproach.

Harry swallowed as he heard the change in Draco's tone. Maybe he should say something…

"Don't." Draco silenced him with a simple hand wave; cutting off any dull reply he might have had "It's a yes then."

"You sure?" he croaked; this was too good to be true.

"Yes! Now shut it before I change my mind." He snapped and looked deliberately the other way.

"I'm glad."

With a sigh he looked back at Harry, no reason in trying to keep up his facade right now "Yeah, me too…" he granted him with one of his rare smiles. "Let's go back, I'm freezing…"

Shivering slightly, he and Draco joined the Ball again. The seriousness between the two of them was immediately crushed when they saw what was going on; in the brief window of their absence the whole place had turned upside down. No more nice waltzing and standard, practiced dances, no, everybody was moving wildly along with the music -I'm so excited from Diana Ross and the Supremes to be exactly- or rather muggle borns were, pure-bloods and mostly Slytherins were gaping awkwardly at the display.

"Is that… Muggle music?" Draco croaked, looking as if the earth had stopped turning.

Harry nodded; his mouth slightly agape. "Yeah, I believe it is."

"But, but, but I-I though Muggle devices wouldn't work at Hogwarts…" he stuttered, not able to cope with what he saw.

The Gryffindor burst out in laughter as the situation suddenly made sense. He elbowed Draco and pointed at the stage. "They don't, but those two up stage are the Weasley twins…"  
Fred and George were messing with a complicated looking device, partly looking like a huge stereo player, but at the same it didn't. Lee was sorting out several cd's while shouting amiably at the two redheads.  
His eyes took in the whole jumping and wriggling mass of students before him until a certain pair caught his attention. His jaw dropped. Somewhere in the middle –most students had formed a circle around them- were Alex and Finbar, giving it all. He could see Alexs' lips moving along with the lyrics, her hair loose now, her movements perfectly coordinated with Finbar's. The Gryffindor's black mane was loose; blouse buttoned down halfway and pulled out of his black smart pants. Gone was the rather timid behavior, gone were the famous blushes, replaced by a huge grin. They were standing opposite of each other, dancing together, as if it was the most normal thing ever. Right now they were standing back to back, going lower and lower with a shake on the beat of the music. Black hair was mixed with white, Alex probably laughing out loud, but the music swallowed every sound.

The song ended and Alex gave Finbar a swat on the back, grinning, before leaving. It took a while for Harry to realize that she was coming at them. Briefly he considered running away and go hiding.

"You guys are missing out here, c'mon!" she gestured at them, over-enthusiastic.

"I am not going in there!" Draco snapped "That's Muggle music!" and he made to leave.

"Oh boohoo!" Alex chuckled and snatched his wrist "Oh no you're not... You, my dearest Drakie-poo, are coming with me."

"Alex let go!" he sneered, looking as if he was ready to drink her blood.

Harry knew that the Seeker would never be able to over-power his friend, Alex was very strong after all. "LET GO!" he screamed, before being swallowed in the mass of students.

Harry sniggered and slipped in as well, moving around the crowd and over to the table with littered with various snacks. He just had to get a better view of this, and he also realized that he'd better go find Colin Creevy and his trusty camera. This was a moment to go down into history.

Alex tapped Draco's left hip. "Move, Drake, move!"

The blue eyed Slytherin crossed his arms and a harsh sneer was pulled over his face. "I'd rather die!" he yelled.

Alex started dancing around him, prodding him once in a while. "Oh I see… you can't." she pulled a dramatic expression of feigned shock on her face "Draco Malfoy can't dance."

"I can!" he snapped "I just don't dance on Muggle music!"

"But you want to! I can feeeeel it!" She smiled, swaying her hips.

Draco glared darkly at her. Over time, their mental link had evolved into something far more delicate than words. If they wanted to, they could see images, even memories, from the other's mind, without having trouble to concentrate: if Alex was training with Harry, while Draco was playing Wizard's Chess, then Alex would able to exchange suggestions with him, contemplating his next move. And besides from being able to look through one other's eyes, they were tuned to each others feelings and movements. One big downside on this special way of communicating was that both of them would be able to pick up the slightest emotion, thought or experience if their emotions were harsh and raw. Uncontrolled. So far they hadn't had a reason to mind this…

Meanwhile a new song started -Rhythm is a dancer from Snap- and Alex threw her head back while snaking a hand around the back of Draco's neck, forcing him to move with her as she turned and moved around him. He didn't stop yelling and complaining, Alex arguing with a sly grin on her face because the distraction kept Draco busy enough so he didn't notice he was unconsciously moving along with her on the beat. Rather stiffly though, but not bad. Not bad at all.

Meanwhile Harry was wrapped up in a conversation with the Weasley twins. "How did you do that?" he asked, while climbing up the stage to observe the complicated device a little closer.

George grinned brightly "Bloody awesome eh? But the credit goes to Lee really… he's the one who came up with it. Being muggle-born and all."

"Dad was fascinated with the project, helping out whenever he had time." Fred added.

"Then Dumbledore caught wind of it, and he asked us over… he said that the students of Hogwarts needed the pleasurable distraction while it lasted." Lee finished; a worried expression on his face. "You guys are all shielded from and hardship you might go through out there… but since we're adults now, we've been caught up in the middle of it."

All mirth and mischief left their faces. "Many muggles have gone missing, not to mention the ones who were found dead in their houses. Dead without any trace of illness or wounds, no reason at all. Just dead, lifeless eyes open in terror." Fred sighed and sat down next to Harry at the edge of the podium. "I've missed this place so much…"

They sat in silence for a while, both wrapped up in their own thoughts. "So Alexs' sorted into Slytherin eh? Who would have thought that? Not to mention she's dancing with Ferret-face." Fred growled.

Harry's green eyes lingered over the two dancing figures on the dance floor, drawing many odd glances. Draco seemed to have lost any kind of objection he might have had against dancing, since he was laughing and moving shamelessly with his friend. "Draco has changed. So has Alex." He closed his eyes "Much has."

"I can tell." Fred murmured. "He's laughing." And then he added more venomously "But he's still a bloody bastard."

Harry didn't answer and he focused his attention on Ron and Hermione now. Hermione tried to convince Ron to join her, but the redhead stubbornly held post at the punch bowl. Finbar was watching the exchange between his two housemates with barely concealed amusement, Cho standing besides him, complaining, but Finbar didn't really recognize her presence.

"I see that dear Ronniekins has come out of denial." Fred said with an amused tone. "My baby-brother is growing up." He perfectly imitated his mother.

"Ohohoh… whose that guy dancing with Ginny over there? I don't like the look on his face…" George growled and soon enough both twins were out hunting. The poor guy had pink hair for the rest of the evening.

Both Finbar and Ron were still standing at the punch bowl, the redhead watching with a little pout as Hermione danced with Seamus.

"Something bad is going to happen." Finbar whispered so silently that only Ron managed to catch the statement.

The redhead in turn looked at him startled. The werewolf's tanned skin had an ashen tint to it, the morning blue eyes glazed over, and a sad, distant look in place.

"I can hear it. Them. Voices."

"Ohohohoh, Wolfman, don't go stark raving on me now. Wait until we're safely back in our dorms, or better yet, wait 'til morning and freak out on Harry or Hermione instead." Ron replied.

"I'm sorry. Perhaps it's the FireWiskey…" Finbar muttered a little embarrassed, trying to cover up his slip, a scarlet blush spreading over his cheeks.

But then it was already too late. Ron knew he wasn't joking, his housemate was a master at shielding most emotions when it came down to his unusual abilities, but that didn't stop the glimmer of deep pain in his eyes. Besides, Finbar hadn't touched a drop of alcohol all night long.

"What did you hear?"

"Screams. People crying. Pain."

"Dear Merlin Finbar…" Ron touched the werewolf's hand, it was as cold as ice.

Later that night, or rather early morning, there was a slow dance. Harry was surprised to see Alex and Draco the first ones to open the dance. It he didn't know any better, he'd be positively sure that they were a couple. How did she do it? He was so different around her, not to mention she'd brought out an entirely other person out of him… maybe even his real self.  
Next were Ron and Hermione, the redhead adopting a glowing red blush to match with his hair. Eventually he and Luna joined in as well, along with most other couples.

Draco froze as Alex suddenly huddled a lot closer than necessary, burying her face in his chest. As a matter a fact he stopped moving at all.

"Alex."

"I'm sorry." She shivered "Don't ever leave me okay."

"Alex? What the hell? What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"Don't know… Something… is going to happen. Something bad." His friend whispered and he had to strain to hear her.

For the rest of the evening Draco couldn't help the feeling that 'To you' was supposed to follow up her statement. He tried to ask, to feel, to hear, but she'd shielded herself completely from him.

Very carefully Ron held on to Hermione's slim waist, he felt like he was holding the most precious thing ever. Why hadn't he noticed that her small hand fitted perfectly into his big one? Or how her head would be able to fit into the round of his neck? How he could wrap his arms around her, protecting her from any harm? Why was he having all these mushy thoughts? Was he going insane?

Hermione lifted her head from his shoulder and gazed into his eyes. It was like they were the only two people on the world. Ron and Hermione. She couldn't stop her hand moving up to touch his cheek, smiling at his blush. She couldn't stop their faces moving closer to each other. She couldn't stop the gasp as she felt Ron's breath tickle her face. And she certainly couldn't stop his lips meeting hers. It was quite a clumsy and sloppy kiss at first, their teeth clanking together, but very soon they both lost themselves in the kiss. Ron felt like he'd died and gone to heaven.

Harry let go of Luna and shuffled closer to get a better view of this, he didn't know he was smiling so brightly that it made him glow. As if on cue, Colin appeared next to him and all Harry had to do was give a nod. The camera flashed. Perfect!

Alex stopped and smiled, hopping up and down slightly. Draco smirked. And Finbar started clapping. Soon the whole dance floor broke into an applause, several catcalls coming from none other than Fred and George. And Alex.

Dazed, they broke the kiss. Not really aware of what was going on. Harry walked up to the two of them and whispered in Ron's ear. "Go, I'll keep them out.'

At first Ron squinted at him, but it didn't take him long to understand what he was saying. He lips formed a 'thank you'. "Want to go somewhere more private?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Yes please."

And so they left. Still snickering silently Harry made his way over to the table, where Alex promptly pushed him a glass of FireWiskey. Draco and Blaise were looking at him with some sort of curious anticipation.

"So where'd they go?" Blaise asked.

"Our dorm. I told the guys to leave them some privacy…"

Draco knocked back his 6th glass of FireWiskey, and he was really starting to get light headed. He couldn't stop snickering for some damn indefinable reason. But everything was so damn funny all of a sudden. "Wanna bet they're fucking like rabbits?" He provided wagging his eyebrows.

Alex sighed in exasperation "Drake, what is it with you and your obsession with fucking rabbits?"

Draco didn't stop sniggering and retorted "Have you ever seen the little buggers go?"

Alex shot a meaningful look the other two's direction "You know; they have therapies for this, like the ones with a twelve step program…"

Suddenly he stopped sniggering and regained a little back from his cool façade, although a bit tattered. "Oh, shut up, you're no better then me, who set off dung bombs in a dorm? "

Alex gave him an innocent look "Must admit it was funny…"

Draco tried to scowl at her, but gave up on it eventually. Why was everything spinning? "Alex… you set them of in my bed!"

Blaise bowed his head to Harry and muttered "If you value your sanity, stick with me…"

"Got it!" he confirmed.

But three more FireWiskeys later he was no better off. He and Draco were two of the last ones, most students starting to retreat for the night. Alex had dragged a very giddy Blaise down the dungeons before he would hurt himself or say something they'd regret later on.

"And that, my friend, is the meaning of life…" Draco slurred and slapped him on his thigh.

"To get everyone dancing the Macarena in a tutu? You've been hanging around with Alex too much…"

"Hey, the girl has a point there… imagine how funny it would be…" he laughed at the image, holding his stomach, and about to fall of his chair.

Harry caught him right on time and slapped him in the face and held up four fingers "Draco, how many fingers?"

"Eleven… heck I don't care."

If they did care they probably wouldn't be saying whatever they were saying, but they didn't really care because they didn't know what they were saying in the first place. Got it? Draco tried to ignore the distracting colors and concentrate on what Harry was saying. Okay so he wasn't really listening; he was looking at the full lips moving, how there were little holes in his cheeks when he laughed. Suddenly Harry's lips stopped moving –much to Draco's displease- and he was looking at him as if awaiting a response. The only thing Draco had been able to catch was "…if you want to."

_Pull you to the floor and shag you senseless? Absolutely. _The little voice was nothing if not persistent. Draco ignored it resolutely and collected himself enough to manage, "Sorry? Do I want to what?"

Harry rolled his eyes and repeated "Would you like me to take you to the dungeons, cause I hardly doubt you'd be able to find the way yourself. Wouldn't want to find you sleeping somewhere in the hallways next morning, imagine what that would do to your reputation…"

Draco nodded, but clutched his head as he did so, suppressing a pained groan. At least he seemed a little more focused now. Harry tried standing up, but having a hard time himself actually. Draco didn't seem to be able to get up at all. At long last the supported each other, stumbling out of the Great Hall and down to the dungeons. If Harry left Draco on his own, he'd probably end up in the lake, get swallowed by the Giant Squid and suffer a painfully slow digesting process.

It took a long time, especially since they ended up more than once where they didn't want to be. Like a room with snogging students and a room with all sorts of skeletons (Harry swore he saw one moving). Finally they found the portrait hole for the Slytherin dungeon, Draco slurred the password and Harry pushed him through, losing his balance himself. He ended up next to Draco on the floor.

"Draco… are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Little pink elephants in tutu's?" Harry nodded, regretting the action immediately. "Yeah, I'm seeing them too…"

After much maneuvering they got back up, a little wobbly, Harry almost having to carry Draco further in. He smiled when he saw Blaise sitting on the large leather couch, his head drooped back on the leaning, a heap of pillows covering his legs, Alexs' head somewhere in-between them, sleeping in his lap. Blaise was snoring indignantly.

Draco swatted imaginary things out of the air "Little buggers…" Harry let him lean against the stone wall. "Thanks…"

"S'kay… Wonder where I should go…"

"Huh?"

"I'm not going back to the drom, don't want to disturb my friends… Ron and Hermione deserve this little time together."

"Bloody Hell, it's not like they'll be doing anything else then holding hands. It it's Weasley and Granger after all, she probably freak out if they'd did anything against the school rules."

"I know, I just want them to have some privacy."

"Well, maybe you can stay here." Draco grumbled and he would never understand what made him say this.

"You sure?" the words were uttered with a shy tone and a duck of his head that were absolutely enchanting, and Draco wondered with no small amount of frustration just exactly how long he was going to be able to keep his hands to himself.

"Yeah. C'mon." How exactly had this happened? _Must admit he's very sexy when shy. And also absolutely drop-dead fucking gorgeous. Don't forget about that too._

About fifteen minutes later they'd managed to get upstairs, the dorm completely deserted. Without much more consideration, they stripped themselves down to their boxers and Harry pulled back the comforter and crawled into the massive bed, snuggling into the warmth. Draco extinguished the candles with a flick of his wand and got in on the other side of the bed.

"You better not steal my covers." Draco grumbled, tucking himself in and turning his back at Harry.

"Yeah, yeah…"

**The Morning After… **

Harry woke dazedly next morning, not wanting to get up. God he had a headache! He whimpered and snuggled closer against the warm and soft something next to him. The Gryffindor was lying on his side, his face pressed against -what's it called?- skin. He inhaled sleepily and buried his face into the sweet smelling… somebody besides him, whose warm arms were encircling him, head buried in his black mop of hair, their legs entwined. _Who the hell is this anyway? _He though groggily; trying to decipher what was going on. Of course he didn't care anymore when 'the somebody' moaned with a soft sigh, and started to run a hand over his bare stomach, rubbing slow circles.

"…Feels good" he murmured appreciatively. He'd never felt such a delicate sense of comfort… feeling like he belonged here: body, soul and mind matching perfectly with another person. He pressed his cheek against the bare chest.

_Ooohohoh__… wait, back up. Chest? _

His eyes widened with realization and he froze, trying to comprehend just how the situation came to be. As if his human pillow had sensed his dismay, the other body stirred and the hand on his stomach stopped the heavenly caress. With the distinct feeling he didn't want to know, he looked up. To his immense and mortifying horror he found himself staring into the slate gray eyes of Draco Malfoy, whose face was uncharacteristically pulled into a dumbfounded expression.

"Fuck!" was all the Slytherin uttered, looking as if the apocalypse was knocking on his front door.

"What are you doing in my bed?" Harry cried, feeling the alcohol practically evaporate from his system as panic settled in. He jumped up and scrambled out of bed, hearing a 'thud' as Draco hit the floor, trying to roll out.

A second later he was standing back up, dumbfounded expression replaced by a dark glare, chest heaving up and down, blonde hair sleep-mussed and standing out in a fashion which could rival Harry's. "YOUR bed?" he screeched "MY bed you mean!"

Mortified Harry looked at the large bed they'd been _cuddling_ in a second ago… What happened? "You were snogging me!" he muttered in accusing tone, green eyes wide and staring at Draco.

"What's going on?" Draco screamed "This is your fault… I just know it!" he added as an afterthought, eyes narrowing to small slits dangerously. Bloody Potter just stood there, glaring, as if the old saying about looks having the power to kill was true. Draco glared back fervently wishing that Potter would drop dead. Or at least falter from the maliciousness of his gaze.

They both exploded in a furious tirade at the exact same moment, shaking fists at each other.

Meanwhile they hadn't noticed that they were not alone. In the doorway were three other students, both a different expression on their face. One looked definitely smug, the second one skeptical and the last one victorious at least.

The last one, Alex, brushed her hair back in an exaggerated swing and sniggered "See, I told you it would work…"

Finbar arched a dark eyebrow and shook his head "Alex… they're fighting…"

Suddenly Draco froze his protests; hand stilled in the air, and slowly turned his head in their direction. "You!" he breathed venomously.

Before he and Harry could launch themselves at their prey, Hermione put a bounding spell on them. They both collapsed back onto the bed.

Harry thrashed against his bonds, growling as Draco roared "I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Alex backed away, her face a little paler than a moment ago. "All in favor of a cooling off period say Aye!"

"Aye!" yelled Hermione and Finbar in unison as the three headed back for the door. "Sorry Harry!" Hermione called over her shoulder as the door slammed shut.

After at least half an hour of struggling and shouting, they both fell limp.

"Can't you get us out of here?" Draco sneered.

"If I could I would have done so a looong time ago." He retorted, rolling his eyes. He wiggled once more, but to no avail. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged for that was as far as his bonds allowed.

Draco groaned. "What are you looking at?" he snapped as he saw Harry's eyes roaming over him.

The-boy-who-lived grinned winsomely up at him "Seriously Draco… green boxers with silver snakes…?"

"Oh hardy-har-_har__…_" he muttered "Very amusing Mr. Potter…"

* * *

Keiko RULES! Thank you very much, let's all pray Keiko won't get tired of beta-ing it, cause otherwise it would be stuffed with mistakes. 


	16. Keep Breathing

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ** **Wihstrum**

**Chapter sixteen: Keep Breathing **

Draco rolled over to his back, careful not fall off the edge of his bed, groaning. His head hurt, his stomach was cramping, his sight was hazy and on top of that the whole room was spinning for bloody Merlin's sake. Draco Malfoy was officially suffering from the worst hangover in the history of the world, both wizard and muggle. He writhed, trying to sit up.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked; having given up on escaping 20 minutes ago. Hermione's charms were simply irreversible and knowing his bushy haired friend this one was combined with a time-spell, so they'd have to wait this one out.

Draco groaned again; narrowing his eyes. "Stop yelling…" he muttered "Need to go the bathroom…"

Wow, everything was incredibly wobbly today… Maybe if he could just ram his head against that brick wall over there, things would be much better.

Harry sniggered with all the volume of a thousand thunderstorms. "Well that'll certainly be something to remember… Draco Malfoy strolling out of his room, bonded and wearing only boxers… not to mention we woke up in the same bed together…"

"Grmmmmmff…" Draco squeezed his eyes shut. "Why aren't you suffering from your hangover?" It was not fair, if he were to suffer certainly Harry were to suffer more.

"I think I sobered again from the mere shock of waking up in your arms." Harry said, casting a glance at Draco, before adding "You were cuddling me…"

Draco raised his head -even though it took a lot more trouble than it should- and he even managed to raise his eyebrows mockingly "Then what was all that 'Feels good…' about? Hmm?"

The Slytherin didn't bother to hide a victorious smirk as Harry's cheeks reddened to a shade of deep scarlet red, one that would go nice with his Quidditch outfit.

"Thought so." Draco drawled, while trying to find a way to pick up his wand from the nightstand.

Harry observed the slate eyed youth with and amused smile on his face. Right now he was trying to pick his wand up from the nightstand with his teeth, cursing loudly while doing so as he was obviously failing in his attempts. Maybe it was a good time to tell Draco he could help him out with some simple wandless magic… nah, not yet, this was rather entertaining.

Holding his wand carefully between his teeth he tried muttering a charm which would release him from his bonds. After a few attempts a loud bang ensured, followed by a huge cloud of smoke. With a loud curse and thus opening his mouth, Draco's wand dropped to the floor and rolled under the bed.

Harry in meanwhile was watching with an utterly disturbing grin.

"What?" he uttered harshly, hoping the Gryffindor would quit gawking at him and started treating him with the proper respect he deserved.

The raven head chuckled and if Draco hadn't been so damn frustrated he'd have noticed how sinfully gorgeous the boy looked. Harry tried to suppress his sounds of amusement, thus making odd snorting sounds. "You know… I could help you with your headache…"

He burst out in laughter again as Draco's eyes widened unbelievingly "Are you saying you could have helped me all this time?" he growled, ready to strangle Harry one way or another, even if he had to do so with his legs.

"You didn't ask." Harry replied with an innocent smile.

Draco narrowed his eyes; actually that guy wouldn't have made that bad a Slytherin… "Well, help me already!" he commanded.

Harry arched an eyebrow, lips pouting. Oh this was so much fun. "You didn't say the magic word…"

Not caring about Malfoy dignity, but only wanting to get rid of his awful headache, he sneered "Damn you…" he narrowed his eyes and stared him right in the eye "Please. There, happy now?"

"Much better." Harry nodded approvingly, he beckoned Draco to get move closer to him. The blonde scooted over, crawling on his knees, sitting before him. "Closer." Harry muttered, not able to help the pink flush on his cheeks.

"Can't have enough of me, can you?" Draco smirked, lowering his voice huskily.

"Shut it." Harry rolled his eyes. "It's a simple form of wandless healing magic, so I need to touch you…"

"Yeah, I bet you would like that, wouldn't you…" he waggled his eyebrows, even though it didn't help his pounding headache.

Harry let out a sigh in annoyance. "Do you want me to help you or not?"

Grumbling Draco complied and shuffled closer to Harry, who was looking at him with a thoughtful expression. Deciding this was the closest he would get he raised his eyebrows, wordlessly asking what he was supposed to do now. And then suddenly Harry leaned over to him, giving Draco a rather frustrating breathing problem.

Harry closed his eyes as their foreheads touched. Okay, he was officially blushing now. Not to mention the other reactions his body was threatening, which he currently lacked the mental capacity to evaluate. _Snape__ in a tutu, Snape in a tutu._  
He opened his eyes again, almost dreading to meet Draco's gaze right on. He barely chocked back a whimper as their noses brushed, and tried to concentrate on the deep gray eyes of his former nemesis. His lips moved automatically, not really forming words of a spell. It was just something you knew, information stored deep within your soul, as Alex's explains it, that is.

Draco let out a contented sigh as the thick, buzzing and confusing headache was washed away by a clear and cool sensation. The pressure behind his eyes was lifted and his upset stomach calmed. He'd never ever had felt better like he did now.  
He felt Harry's warm forehead retreating, and he sat up slowly, his stomach muscles rippling like the tide, leaving Draco blinking at him with an expression of genuine awe.

**Sometime in the late afternoon…**

Harry paced hence and forth before the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office. What was taking them so long? He couldn't believe this was happening so soon…  
Right after the bonding spell wore off (during which Draco and he swore to get the three of them back for it) and after they got dressed again (both blushing and even Draco had refrained from saying anything), they'd went to seek out Dumbledore whom had given the Slytherin four hours to contemplate whether or not he was sure about this. He'd warned him that he'd be interrogated under influence of Veritaserum, thus forcing him to spill out his deepest feelings if asked for. Grudgingly Draco had accepted and so far he hadn't returned.  
With a loud sigh Harry let himself slide down the stone walls and rested his chin upon his knees. There were so many things on his mind, his head felt like exploding… First off all, they weren't going back to Grimmauld place for Christmas… Alex had refused to go with them since Draco and Blaise were staying over for the holidays. Harry in turn, didn't really feel like leaving those three alone, especially since Draco's loyalty was being tested. And secondly, Finbar would be staying; his parents found it safer for him to stay under protection of Dumbledore, not to mention it would be his first transformation without Moony. And third off all; and deep down Harry knew this was the true reason, he dreaded to go back and be once again painfully confronted with the fact that Sirius wasn't going to be there for Christmas either.

Suddenly the stone statue moved again and Draco emerged from the hidden passage, his hands tucked into the pockets of his robe, head bowed and a deep frown on his sharp, albeit ashen, features, but more or less composed.

"Draco!" Harry exclaimed, getting rather clumsily up due to a sleeping foot. Not to mention his sore ass from sitting on the cold stone floor for over an hour.

The slate-eyed boy jumped at the sudden appearance and wheeled around "Dammit, you scared the crap out of me!" he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to force back the immense headache that was threatening to come up for the second time this day "You've been waiting here the whole time?"

Harry looked at the tips of his shoes "Yeah."

Draco arched an eyebrow "Why?"

"Why?" Harry asked incredulously "Because I've been worried as hell, that's why!"

"I can take care of myself." He snapped, couldn't the Gryffindor see he didn't really want any company right now?

Slowly Draco looked up and chanced to meet Harry's wide green eyes. A combination of desire, crushed hope, and confusion shimmered out at him before the raven head looked pointedly in the other way. He'd been sorely tempted to toss aside any sense of propriety whatsoever, and just haul the Gryffindor into his arms and kiss him until those lovely eyes held nothing but that wonderfully dazed look they'd had this morning. But he couldn't, he had to grit his teeth, even just for a little while longer. So instead he muttered "Don't mind me… I've never felt more confused like now… Hell, I just bid farewell to 16 years of being drilled into becoming a Death Eater and here I am now, doing exactly the opposite…"

"Doing the right thing." Harry corrected.

Draco's frown possibly deepened even more "Let's just hope so." He growled.

**Next morning.**

Draco stared at the letter in his hands, trying to convince himself that the addressee didn't really say 'Lucius Malfoy'. A weak feeling of despair gripped around his stomach as he opened the envelope with trembling fingers. He unfolded the parchment of paper that fell out and read what it said:

_ We'll be celebrating Christmas together this year. I'll come to collect you Sunday evening. _

The piece of paper slid from his fingers, unforgotten. He knew. It was useless to burden himself with the question how exactly his father had managed to obtain this information only 12 hours after it had happened. More importantly: what now?

**Late at night.**

Draco slid out of the shadows he'd been standing in for over an hour, just waiting for a certain Gryffindor to pass by on his way up to his tower "Harry?" Draco queried softly, causing Harry to whirl around in surprise "Could I talk to you for a minute?"

"What's wrong?" Harry asked; eyes narrowing in suspicion as he noticed the exhausted expression on his face, even though he was trying to cover it up with sophisticated aloofness

"I…I have… something to tell you. I have to tell someone… I d-don't want her to be alone." He babbled. Okay, so far for sophisticated aloofness.

"What are you talking about?" He started to feel sick. You know that feeling, when no one has to explain, but you just feel that something is wrong? Something was really wrong here. So wrong that it made Harry's throat go dry.

"Alex. I don't want her to be alone and I certainly don't want her to come after me." His voice was hoarse and he dropped his gaze to the floor. "I have to go back. They want me home for Christmas."

That revelation came like a blow in the gut for Harry and he had to summon an enormous amount of control to keep his voice steady. "Are you insane? They're gonna kill you… you just joined the Light side!"

Draco kept his eyes anchored to the floor. "They're still my family Harry. Maybe it isn't all lost."

And yes, deep down in his heart he prayed that things weren't truly lost. A father would surely choose his son over the Dark Lord, no? And if not his father, what about his mom? He couldn't abandon her, even if she hadn't been the most perfect mother-figure to look up to. Draco Malfoy was never one for feeling. Ever since he was born he was forbidden to love. Taught not to have emotions. He never felt the motherly caresses after crying or scraping a knee…  
He knew things couldn't possibly go back as they were before summer… It had been the brief absence of his father being imprisoned in Azkaban that had made him realize who he was, what he wanted and especially what he didn't want. He'd always wanted his father to appreciate him…  
Being a Malfoy meant being the best, always. It meant being in control, always, and especially in control of your emotions. It meant being cold and emotionless. It meant being a pureblood. Being a Malfoy meant getting what you wanted and ironically it meant growing into a carbon copy of his father, Lucius Malfoy. And that… that was what Draco didn't want. Never would he lower himself to the likes of Voldemort. A real Malfoy didn't bow down to anyone. No one. Ever.

Harry shook his head unbelievingly "Oh? You call that a family? They will try to kill you! Is it because you're blonde or just plain retarded?"

Draco hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously to slits. How dare he? "Screw you Scarface! Don't ever talk about something you don't _even know anything about!_"

"Well if it wasn't for your daddies friends, I would still have parents, but unfortunately, they managed to _slaughter them_." Harry had nearly yelled out loud, but had remembered how late it was and had managed to quell the shout to a furious throaty growl.

For a moment they just stared at each other, and Draco hated the insecurity, hated not knowing what to say, or even if this was for real. He wanted to lash out, needed to make someone else feel smaller than he did. "You don't know anything about me Potter! You don't know who I am! And _you_ certainly wouldn't understand. Why won't you just snap out of your pathetic hero-complex? It's not because you couldn't save Diggory and Black that you have to adopt me as your new object of pity."

Something snapped inside Harry. With one final roar of anger he launched himself at Draco, fist flying. The Slytherin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, trying to hit him wherever he could. The blonde managed to dodge the first punches and kicks, until Harry hit him square on the eye. The impact of the blow was hard enough to send Draco toddling backwards against the wall. When he slumped down Harry's rage subsided and he snapped out of his fury. What was he doing?

He hurried over to him to help him. The latter, in meanwhile, was sitting against the wall, his face hidden beneath the strands of silver hair, breathing with sharp intakes of air. The raven haired boy crouched down before him, yet Draco didn't move. He slowly reached out to brush the silvery locks out of his face, but before the tips of his fingers made contact, the blonde slowly raised his head. His eye was swollen and his lip had a nasty cut to it.

"Go away."

Harry shook his head again, hands trying to find something to hold on to "Draco, I'm so sorry..."

"Go away Harry." He repeated with a deadly calm.

Harry felt his cheeks burning, skin tingling and his bruised body inwardly protesting at every flex of muscle. The blood slowly leaked out of Draco's lower lip and left a mocking red trial behind on its journey down until his white unbuttoned shirt absorbed it.

"GO AWAY!" he suddenly yelled.

Draco closed his eyes and awaited the parting footsteps of the Gryffindor.

_Leave, its better this way. _

Just when he was about to pry his eyes open (or rather his good eye) he felt a warm breath on his face and before he could realize what happened… Harry kissed him.

A soft questioning kiss, his lips wet, warm and shaking.

His eyes flew open. Harry's face was hovering only inch from his; he could still feel his warm breath. He was so close Draco could smell him, he smelled like a summer thunderstorm, fresh and wild. Free. Draco had always loved storms; he'd go out and stand under the raging elements until he was soaked and shivering. He looked deep into Harry's green eyes.

"You can't hide from me." And before Draco could retort Harry's lips came crashing down.

Jolts and sparkles of electricity surged through him and he found himself kissing back. His hands ended somewhere up in his unruly mess off ebony black hair while he tried to be as close as him as possible. The kiss was desperate and filled with longing and aching; sinfully wonderful and sensual.

Harry pulled back, gasping. That was enough to break Draco out of his trance.

_NO!_

He turned his head when Harry's lips searched his own once again. It ended somewhere on his cheek. With a last gathering of all the willpower he had left to fight his emotions, he threw Harry off and got up scrambling and tripping over his own feet. And he ran. He ran as fast as he could and as far away as he could get.

With a loud roar he kicked open the door to the dorm he only shared with Blaise, since most of the Slytherins had departed, as foreseen. If Draco had thought things couldn't have gotten any worse, he was proven wrong. Besides from being summoned back home, and Draco knew it wasn't just to chat and drink champagne… and not even to mention that Harry just kissed him, thus ensuring the whole situating to get even more complicated, here Alex was, sitting cross-legged on his bed, her eyes glazed over that spoke of the hours she spend there, waiting for his return. So she knew too, he hadn't been able to shield her. The letter was in her hands.

"Why didn't you tell me?" her voice was deceivingly flat, yet it caused the hairs in his neck to stand and his skin to prickle.

"None of your business." He hissed.

"You promised me!" she suddenly screamed, standing up on his bed, and looking more intimidating that he'd ever seen. "You promised never to leave me!"

"I didn't promise you anything! I never answered your question in the first place!" he retorted. Oh fabulous, not only Harry but now also Alex decided to give him a hard time. Well if this wonderful dream were to end, then he'd end it right now. For good.

She hopped down the bed, landing in front of him. "I thought we were friends…" her voice was trembling, fighting back the urge to pin him against the wall and keep him there, safe.

"Well, you thought wrong." He growled between gritted teeth "Out!" he pointed at the door, feeling as is he were to tore his own heart out of his chest. He knew he'd broken her hearth, and by doing so he'd also broken his. Draco knew she felt he was lying, he couldn't stop it, but he had been harsh enough to fend her off. And by these cruel means, she'd be safe.

**Two days later. **

Finbar's stomach heaved and he threw up all of his dinner. Whimpering, he hugged himself, fervently hoping a miracle would happen and he wouldn't have to change into a werewolf this night. He hadn't done this alone for four months, and not only that, he feared endangering his friends. If Remus were there, they had each other's soothing presence, but the DADA teacher had departed somewhere called Grimmauld Place, not that he blamed him.

"Finbar?" came Seamus's tentative call from outside the door "You okay?"

"Just peachy." He mumbled, resting his right temple against the cool stone wall. It took him a while to regain his breath and even longer to stop his stomach from turning. At long last he shuffled out of the bathroom, still clutching his belly.

The Irish youth rubbed his back consolingly, trying to lighten the pain "That bad ey?"

"I'll live." He said, yet his grin failed miserably. "Need some fresh air…"

Seamus gave him a last soft pat on his shoulder as Finbar opened the portrait hole. He started to wander aimlessly through the castle, the advice and consolations Remus had given him replaying themselves over and over again in his head.

He sighed and scuffed his way down a random corridor, eventually coming to a dead end then turning around and heading back out again. At long last he ended up somewhere familiar; a large, cavernous room, lit by torches, with ceiling so high it's barely visible. And it was completely deserted… save for one, lone figure:

Alex was sitting alone against the stone wall of the Entrance Hall; her face was uncharacteristically pulled into a harsh sneer, yet her once brilliant green eyes were completely void of any emotion, and the color had faded down to ashen gray.

"Hey." He murmured softly as he lowered himself down next to her.

The left corner of her mouth tugged up for the slightest moment "Hi."

"You okay?" he asked, although he doubted she'd come out for the truth.

She remained disturbingly silent for a moment and Finbar swore he could hear her heart hammer against her chest. Suddenly her shoulders heaved and her head slumped down in her hands "Fuck no." she choked.

He winched as emotions flooded out from her, like a tidal wave, clashing mercilessly with his own; she was angry. At herself. And thus he gathered her in his arms, pulling her into his lap. He rocked her gently back and forth, rubbing her back "It's not your fault." He just felt it, understood it, without having to ask.

"He's the only family I have left." she sobbed silently, even now she tried to suppress the need to vent out her emotions "It's my fault if he dies."

Not understanding a word from what she's saying he continued to caress her back, her tears soaking his shoulder.

"I love him."

Finbar squeezed his eyes shut; there was no time for self-pity. So what if she was in love with someone else? He was there for her now, a friend, so he managed to suppress the urge to go and find the bastard, eat him and claim her for himself. "I-I'm sure he loves you too…" he crooked, biting his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.

"He doesn't understand yet. He doesn't see."

Why did she continue to speak in riddles? Suddenly a kind of panic seized him and he let out a strangled cry as his insides squirmed most unpleasantly. "I-I have to go… AARH…" he tried to get up "Full m-moon." He managed, before letting out another sharp scream as he fell down onto hands and knees. The last sane realization was that he hadn't drunk his Wolfsbane potion. And then he lurched forward, his nails, no claws, scraping over the stone floor. His shoulders humped and he hissed between his gritted fangs. His jawbone lengthened, and fur crept all over his body, clothes slipping from his form. The werewolf let out a long, painful howl.

With a feral snarl it sniffed the air, seeking out his first pray. Up those stairs there. A Man. His claws slashed over the stone floor, and he prepared to leap on him. With not more then a few steps he inched in on the man standing there rooted to the spot. But then something large and white flung itself at the raging werewolf, and the clashing of the two large animals erupted in a huge fight, both rolling over the floor, biting and snapping. Claws dug into soft flesh and fur flew through the air. At long last the werewolf was pinned underneath an enormous white tiger, canine versus feline. He let out a furious growl, but it was suppressed by an overwhelming roar, effectively silencing the large werewolf. Very, very slowly the strong paws lessened pressure, allowing the werewolf to cower away into a corner.

Leaving the black werewolf to come to his senses, Alex licked her paw, her cat-like eyes never leaving the trembling silhouette in the corner. After a short while she was able to approach the forlorn creature; she started to purr and licked the large gash in his neck he'd received during their fight. At first the wolf flinched away, but the tiger insisted and nurtured the wound with the soft rasp of her tongue. She bowed her head to look him in the eye and saw that he was starting to gain more control over his cursed form; mind and spirit fighting to regain control over a body that wasn't really his.

With some nudging and prodding, she pushed him through double oak front doors, and outside. Making sure the large wolf was where she wanted him, she looked back at the figure still standing on the stairs. Snape, Wolfsbane potion in hand, jaw hanging open.

She heard the eerie howl of her friend waiting outside, so she turned and ran out into the night after him. To the Forbidden Forest.

With a start Draco sat straight up in his bed; he'd woken up after yet another nightmare. He was gasping for air, his heart was racing in his chest and the sheets were clinging to his sweat-soaked body. A shiver ran down Slytherin's spine as he heard a high and long howl. Wasn't there a rumor about werewolves living in the forbidden forest?  
He allowed his head to roll to the left as he settled back down, bundling up in a protective position. He couldn't stop trembling and he vaguely realized he would never be able to warm up again if he let his heart freeze even more. But did he really care? It sure would make things much easier…  
He sucked in his lower lip again, the metallic taste of the raw cut mingling with his saliva. Damn boy sure had gotten more powerful since last time they fought. He hugged his pillow and tried to breathe, and he tried to concentrate on the cool smoothness of his sheets, anything but the raven haired youth. But he couldn't forget his scent, nor had the way those green eyes looked at him during their kiss, the warmth of his breath tickling his cheeks, their foreheads pressed together…

He hadn't left his room during the past two days, knowing he'd not be strong enough to fight his emotions a second time. He'd already tried to call out for Alex again, but she'd shut herself off as completely as a solid brick wall. Not that he blamed her; he'd said the most awful things to her. And how he missed her… The stupidest things first; the way the freckles on her face moved as she scrunched up her nose, or how she and Blaise could argue over the most idiotic things, or her advice, even if he always pretended like he wasn't listening and most of all how she made him feel like he was part of something.

On the other side of the castle Harry rested his head against the high backed armchair in the common room. He hugged himself, trying to calm down the violent reactions surging through his body. Six years of hatred, constant fighting and trying to find out what could hurt the other most and 48 hours ago he'd lowered his lips unto his former arch-enemy. When did things start to change? _Your only love springs from your only hate. _Perhaps some sayings held truth after all… clasping his knees tighter to his chest, his brows slightly furrowed. He wanted closeness, and belonging, and he had that, really he did… but it wasn't given to him by the person he longed for most.

**The day after.**

Patiently Remus let the young man come to his senses. The feral look in his eyes was starting to die down, yet he still reacted rather harshly to sudden movements. Finbar had spent the entire night out in the freezing snow, roaming through the forest, Alex watching over him in her Animagus form. After the events from last night Snape had immediately warned the headmaster about there being a werewolf on the loose. Without Wolfsbane.

It brought back so many painful memories about his own experiences with being lycanthropic. It had been the first time for Finbar to undergo the transformation without Wolfsbane and it was thanks to Alex that he'd gotten off without too much injuries and broken bones. Alex herself was also present in the room, something the Gryffindor had requested, but she'd refrained from changing back into her human form. So, instead, a huge white tiger was dozing off in front of the fireplace, casting a red glow over the feline creature. The head was resting on her front paws and every now and then she crooked open an eye as if to gauge the expressions on their faces.

Finbar's face appeared to carry unbearable pain. And Remus knew it wasn't the lingering pain of his wounds that caused this, but something far more complex and delicate than that. Guilt.

"How are you feeling?" he asked him softly, yet it still was not silent enough as Finbar jumped up like a frightened child.

He looked around him, bewildered, until he saw the huge white tiger looking up at him from the ground. "I… I don't…" he tried, but no coherent words came out.

Remus studied every movement from his body carefully, from the rising and falling from his chest to the way his eyes darted across the room, always ending on the white tiger. Shortly after they'd asked him to come back, Firenze had met up with him, explaining that Finbar might have trouble with fully regaining sense as he was far more influenced by changes in emotion, spirit and mind.

"I can't stop feeling like I want to run." Finbar murmured softly, his black eyebrows pulled together, thinking very hard about finding the right words to describe. "I feel caged."

Remus nodded, urging him to go on.

"And…" for the first time he lifted his light blue eyes to meet Remus' "I feel angry… for letting it happen… If Alex hadn't stopped me, I might have killed someone…"

Remus sighed and smiled at him sadly. God, he knew how it felt… he knew. He stood up and crossed his room to the small kitchenette where he'd been warming up some hot cocoa. He poured two mugs, for him and Finbar, and put a bowl in front of the tiger, not really sure if she'd appreciate it. Alex started to purr and licked her whiskers before her large snout disappeared into the rather tiny bowl, spilling most of it on the ragged carpet.

"When I was five…" Remus began, tentatively reaching out to cradle the huge tiger on her head. "I was living with my parents in a small cottage, isolated from all other human contact… At first, my mom kept me inside, in my room. She'd kiss my forehead and tell me she loved me, before she locked me up. And the whole night she stayed there right outside the door, terrified, yet she didn't stop talking to me. She told me stories, sometimes out of my books, sometimes she made them up…"  
Remus smiled wryly as Alex couldn't seem to suppress a purr and he vaguely remembered Sirius liked being scratched behind his ear when he was Padfoot. "But then I grew too big and I couldn't be kept inside any longer… So I had to go out. My parents locked all doors and windows and barricaded whatever they could. For a year it went quite well." He looked back to Finbar, the Gryffindor listening intently. "But then one morning I woke up, outside… and…" his voice hitched, even after all those years it was hard "And I found out I ate our dog…" he said bluntly, there was no gentle explanation for this.

Finbar's gaze dropped back to his hands. "I'm a vegetarian." He said dolefully.

Remus let out a small laugh, and waited for him to continue.

"My father is a unicorn herder, so my brother and I lived together in a large house on the countryside. Darragh, that's my younger brother, always wanted to follow up in my father's footsteps. And he was a natural, trust me, those magnificent creatures, even the fully grown ones, came to him like he was one of their own." Finbar's hands were trembling and his eyes were cold and angry. "I ate his favorite unicorn."

Remus was rendered speechless, at loss for words and the soft rumble from Alex's loud purring stopped. "It was not your fault…" he whispered and couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't been cursed to a half-life by drinking the silver and holy unicorn blood, but then again, Finbar was classified as half-human, so that would probably explain the complications in those delicate branches of magic. He already was cursed.

"But that doesn't make it any less cruel." Finbar said; the corner of his mouth pulled up into a sad smile.

"I know." Remus answered, nodding slightly.

Finbar met his questioning gaze. "Thanks."

Remus walked over to him and touched his shoulder. "Anytime."

**Saturday Night.**

Draco flew recklessly through the sky. The air was whipping his white cotton shirt, buttoned down halfway. The icy December night mercilessly froze his chest, which was gleaming with sweat.

And if he cared about the fact that even breathing became harder, he'd only have to fly down and put on the warm robe he'd discarded an hour ago.

But he simply didn't care. He threw the little tennis ball in a graceful arch away and he waited a dangerous amount of time before he put his broom into a steep dive and soared after it. He had only 10 meters to spare. He pushed even harder… 5 meters… 4 meters… he fingers brushed the little ball and he tackled it, before putting all his might in pulling up, the tips of his feet touching the grass. He threw his hands in the air and howled with delight.

He laughed. He laughed until his stomach hurt. He laughed until he was beginning to feel light in his head. He laughed until the tears streamed over his cheeks…

Only he wasn't laughing.

He didn't remember how he got down and when he'd laid down on his back into the grass of the pitch. He didn't really register that his lips were turning blue and breathing became a problem. Only one thing was on his mind. The next evening.

_Well, seems like I was right after all. Friendship and love are illusions of the weak, twisting and deforming the mind. A shimmer upon the surface of a lake. Water running trough the fingers of a thirsty, sick man. A crystal goblet shattering onto a stone floor in millions of little sharp shards. It's the moment of truth in a lie. Love is weak. And I, Draco Malfoy, last and true heir of my bloodline, I am not weak. I won't bow down. To no one. Not even the Dark Lord. I'd rather die. _

"Wish fulfilled." He answered his own last statement.

_Merlin… I never thought I'd be so afraid. I never thought I could feel so lonely… Why…. Why do I care? _

He unconsciously put a hand on his heart and felt its rapid beating against his chest.

_Why am I crying? _

He squeezed his eyes shut, a helpless gesture only causing the tears to leak down his face even more.

_I am not weak. I am Draco Malfoy and I am not weak._ His breath hitched and became ragged at the effort.

Eventually he opened his eyes, a little dazed and nearly had a heart attack when he saw a silhouette towering over him. It took him a while to realize that it was that of a man. He was tall and slender, yet obviously muscular. His presence had a radiating power.

The strange visitor crouched down at Draco's feet and their eyes collided. Blazing green met stormy gray.

His heart skipped a few beats but his voice was deceivingly cold and flat. "What are you doing here?"

Harry winced inwardly, but reminded himself to ignore the Slytherin's body language and voice, taught to endure pain and fear with a straight emotionless face.

"I could ask you the same thing, or do I need to remind you that it's quarter past two _in the morning?_"

"Your point being?"

Instead of answering his last question, he gazed down at him and stated "You look like you're freezing. Even your lips are blue."

_I could warm them up for you… Arck! Heel boy! Heel!_

Draco didn't answer, but simple glared as darkly as he could at Harry.

Harry studied the young man sprawled in the grass. His whole being radiated coldness and his face was pulled into an emotionless mask. He sighed deeply and the mere movement of his body allowed the moonlight to light Draco's face for a split second. Something twinkled on his cheek. He had been crying.

He noticed Harry staring at him rather intently and worse; he saw the shocked expression washing over his face when he noticed the chilly tear that marred his cheek. Before Harry could even react, he had jumped to his feet and made a dash for the exit, but didn't even get halfway. The Gryffindor had caught up with him in no time and was holding his wrist rather roughly. Draco snarled and swung his fist at Harry's face. He however, simply grabbed his fist and pulled him closer. He stumbled into him and was mercilessly confronted with Harry's deep gaze. The mere sight and feeling of the raven haired youth had him trembling. And Harry, of course, had sensed that.

"Why are you so afraid?"

"Why won't you just leave me be! This is none of your bloody business." He attempted to pull himself out of the Gryffindor's arms, failing miserably.

"This _is_ my business!" Harry barked at him "I care for you Draco."

This rendered Draco numb. But the scowl returned just as quickly as it had left. "Why? Why would you care for me? I have nothing to offer you and I certainly don't need your pity!"

"Why do you have to such a stubborn git?" he growled.

He felt Harry's gaze locking with his eyes and with a hoarse voice he said "I'll die tomorrow. I never though I'd be frightened. But I am now, it means I'm weak."

"Caring about someone is no weakness."

"Why are you thinking that 'friendship' or 'love' –as you call it- are the cause of it?"

"Alex."

"My death might just keep her safe."

"And me? Will it keep me safe?"

"HA!" he spat tauntingly "What makes you so confident that I _care_ about you?" he sneered at him with all the anger and venom he could master.

"Only one way to find out…"

He put a finger under Draco's chin and lifted his head so that he could gaze deep into his stormy, grey eyes. Very slowly he lowered his lips unto his and kissed him. The Slytherin stilled completely in Harry's arms, breath caught in his throat. _He wouldn't, he couldn't…_

But then Harry's lips moved to linger at the right corner of Draco's mouth, touching the patch of skin with the briefest of kisses while he nuzzled the blonde's cheek.

Draco finally snapped, all his barriers and defenses crumbled and he couldn't help himself relaxing into the kiss, waving his hands into Harry's hair once more. Their hearts beat in unison and he leaned into Harry's frame. The careful, soft kiss became a sloppy wet one; lips pressed together, breaths ragged, teeth clanking together.

When the Gryffindor pulled back slowly, it left him trembling and completely dazed. Draco could feel his lips trail a soft line from the tip of his nose to his forehead. He let out a contented sigh as Harry kissed his eyelids, before brushing them over the blondes once again and murmuring "I knew it."

**Dawn. **

Harry leaned his head back against Draco's shoulder whose arms were encircling him while he nuzzled the nape of Harry's neck. They were in the Quidditch changing rooms, Harry sitting in-between Draco's legs and the Slytherin in his turn leaning against the wall, his warm winter cloak keeping both of them warm.

"You should apologize to Alex…" Harry whispered softly, not really wanting to ruin the moment, but he knew he would have to force Draco into this, even if it resulted into another fight again. Because the whole week long, and especially tonight, he'd felt her constant insecurity, her constant feeling of failure. He'd even shed her tears one night, having a dream he knew didn't belong to him, and after waking with a loud startled gasp, he knew Alex was crying on the other side of castle.

Harry winched as Draco's teeth pinched his skin rather sharply, startled "I know…" he muttered grudgingly after a while.

"Kay…" Harry retorted, leaning into Draco's frame again, savoring his last moment alone with him.

He felt Draco stirring behind him, his vertebrae snapping back into place as he arched his back. "I need to pack…" he murmured in Harry's hair.

Harry nodded mutely. "So you're going back?" he asked, despite knowing the answer.

"Yes." Came the simple reply.

Harry nodded with a sigh and got up stumbling, his legs starting to tingle as blood flowed back into them. He turned and held out a hand to Draco, whom accepted it, pulling him to his feet.

Draco frowned in displease and tried to straighten his rumpled clothes, wringing around his body uncomfortably. Suddenly he looked up, looking straight into Harry's eyes and opening his mouth, wanting to say something, anything, to lighten the insecure tension between the two of them. But he snapped his mouth shut again as he didn't find words that could bring any comfort.

Harry smiled sadly and ran a hand through his hair. "I understand."

The Slytherin nodded, grateful, looking at him with a lopsided grin which suited him strangely well. And then, Draco reached up and stroked his thumb along the zig-zag of torn and healed-over flesh on Harry's forehead, sending pleasurable shivers down the Gryffindor's spine. He looked at Draco with wonderment; that had been the first good feeling to come from his scar.

**Slytherin**** Common room.**

Draco walked into the common room, perfectly composed, save for his smirk that had gone missing in the progress down to the dungeons. And save for his heart hammering violently against his chest. What was he supposed to do? He'd never really apologized to anyone.  
Relief came over him as he saw Blaise sitting in one of the big leather sofas, gaze glued to a huge book lying open on his lap, yet his eyes didn't really move and a deep frown rumpled his forehead.

"Blaise… where is Alex?" he tried to ask as casually as possible.

The brown haired Slytherin lifted his eyes, glaring at Draco in a fashion that made his relief evaporate within a split second "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you." he said simply, closing the book with a loud snap. "She finally told me what was wrong. I can't believe you said that."

Draco suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and hex himself into oblivion. Here we go again. And this wasn't going to be simple. "Blaise, calm down. I'm here to apologize…"

Blaise snorted and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest. "Right."

Draco gritted his teeth, the effort not to snarl taking up an enormous amount of willpower. "You don't understand…"

"How the hell are we supposed to understand you if hide behind a mask of lies!" Blaise said in a cold reproaching tone.

"Because it's none of your goddamn business!" he snapped, fists trembling in frustration.

"It is our business Drake…" came a soft voice behind him.

Somehow, Alex had slipped in and was leaning against the dungeon wall, her face hidden in the shadows, blending perfectly with her surroundings, yet the surreal twinkle in her eyes betrayed her presence.

"Why?" he asked, starting to understand it had been a set-up, since Blaise started to smile faintly.

"Because…" Alex said, pushing herself off the wall and walking towards him. She stopped right in front of him, having to look up to meet his gaze. "You are our friend." And then she took his hand and placed hers over his, their palms pressed together.  
She closed his hand and Draco felt a very light item resting in the hollow in his fist. "Merry Christmas Draco…"

Draco opened his hand, his throat dry. In his palm lay a black cord with a little crystal on it. He lifted the stone to the light and saw that the deep red changed to fiery scarlet as if set on flame as the candlelight shone through it.

"It's your birthstone…" Alex explained him "Aries right? Means that your birthstone is a Red Garnet."

He swallowed and nodded. That's right, he was born in April. A smile cocked the corner of his mouth as one graceful hand brushed some wayward strands way from her face. "Yeah… friends."

**Entrance Hall.**

Straightening his back and closing his eyes, Draco could only hope his courage would rival the Gryffindors. And then he strolled in the Entrance Hall with all the superiority he could muster, despite having the feeling his last hours were counting down. Okay, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. He could hear Alex's soft footsteps echoing behind her and following further behind was Blaise.

Dumbledore had informed him that Lucius had arrived in Hogsmeade. He would be escorted to the station by carriage, and then home, to spend 'Christmas' with his family…

Draco, let his gaze sweep through the huge castle behind him one last time, until his eyes landed on Alex. He shot her a rare smile, which he found she deserved, and nodded at Blaise. Inwardly he flinched since he couldn't see Harry anywhere; he'd probably be too late by the time he'd get the news of his departure.

Another worry laden sigh and he started walking to the huge oak doors, dreading the time he were to spend out there. He didn't get far as Alex suddenly clamped on his right arm, a pleading look on her face.

Not bothering to use her mental voice she said "If you go out there… you won't come back…"

"Then so be it…" He said with a deceivingly flat voice. "I won't run and hide behind Dumbledore's back. I'm his son, and I'm sure he'll be reasonable enough to talk to. I'll be back before you know." Gently he pushed her off and continued his way up to the door.

"Draco!" Harry came running down the stairs, his hair still wet from a shower, plastered to his forehead and soaking the back of his unbuttoned shirt.

Draco's heart was pounding now, the blood rushing hotly through his system giving lie to the cool facade he presented.

Somewhere behind Harry followed most of the Gryffindors whom had stayed over for the holidays, as Hogwarts provided more safety with increasing Death Eater activity. Ron was looking rather bewildered, yet Finbar and Hermione smiling knowingly. For the first time Draco noticed Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Lupin standing somewhere off the side, observing the event.

"Draco…" Harry began, completely out of breath after running down seven floors, barefooted and hardly dressed. "Draco," he said again and took another step closer. Not finding any words that could describe what he wanted to say he reached out much like Draco had done this morning. It wasn't much of a touch –Harry's fingertips barely brushed against his cheek- but Draco felt it all the way down his toes.

Without further much consideration of their audience Draco leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. Twice. He didn't say anything but his eyes were conveying anything he couldn't say.

Pulling back completely he smiled, and over Harry's shoulder expecting to see sheer horror and disgust on the faces of Harry's housemates. But no such thing; on the contrary, Hermione looked smug. Then there was a thunk' as Ron hit the floor.

He refused any further distraction but couldn't repress the huge smirk at Weasley's fainting. Finally he walked up to Alex and pulled her into a hug, cradling her closely -even though rather stiffly and awkwardly- his head resting on top of hers. Very softly he murmured into her hair "Merry Christmas." And then he pushed something in her hand.

He stepped back, nodded again and turned to leave. With a dramatic push –he couldn't resist- the solid doors swung open and Draco disappeared into a rather violent snowstorm.

He was gone.

Alex opened her hand. In her palm was a very delicate bracelet made out of tiny shells and colorful wooden pearls.

* * *

Wooow wipes forehead here we go again, being me I feel like I totally screwed up this time… aaargh! This was so bloody hard to write! Hope you like it! Really do! So… click the damn purple button and review for the sake of my sanity (or what's left of that…)! REVIEW aaaahahahahah! Please? 


	17. The Wheel of Fate Turns

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic. **

**By Wihstrum**

**Chapter Seventeen: The Wheel of Fate Turns.**

Groaning and squeezing his eyes shut Ronald Weasley ventured back into the world of the living. What had happened? He pried an eye open and was greeted by the lovely sight of Hermione betting his forehead with a cold compress. "Mione…" he murmured.

"Hey Ron." She whispered softly, smiling sweetly at him "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been run-over by a herd of skrewts." He muttered and let his gaze sweep through the place. The Gryffindor Common room so it seemed. Then what were Zabini and Alex doing here? His eyes ended on his best friend, Harry, looking at him with a worried frown.

With a jolt he sat upright, remembering. "Harry! I had the strangest dream… Don't laugh, but seriously; I dreamed that Malfoy kissed you!" he sniggered at Harry's dumbfounded expression "Really! And you didn't protest! As a matter a fact, you seemed to enjoy it… It was like you two were in love…"

Finbar covered a chuckle with a cough and shook his head. Alex shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Blaise snorted. Seamus's lips pulled into a tight line, Dean seemed rather curious, and Neville looked sick.

Harry cleared his throat and looked at Ron with mortifying seriousness "You're my best friend, right?"

"Yeah, of course…" Ron answered slowly; not really understanding where the-boy-who-lived was getting at.

"And you'll always be there for me right?"

Ron arched an eyebrow quizzically "Always, I've never done differently, haven't I?"

"And you'll accept me as I am?"

"Bloody Merlin, Harry yes! You know that!" he partially shouted, eyes narrowing with suspicion. He didn't like the way his friends were exchanging knowing looks. Ron had thought they would have started laughing hysterically at his absurd dream. Instead they were being secretive. The Gryffindor was growing increasingly angrier; he didn't like being left out of the loop.

Harry wrung his hands and took particular interest in pulling on a stray strand of material from his blouse. "Even if I said that Draco and I have a relationship?"

Ron stared at him for a while, jaw slightly agape. The clock's ticking sounded deafening in the crushing silence. And then Ron started howling in laughter, tears streaming down his cheeks. Between fits of laughter they managed to get "AhaAAAAh! That's… ahaaa… A good one… HAAAAAAAAAhaHA… mate…" and finally calming down a bit he sniggered "Bloody brilliant, you looked sososo serious…"

Finbar put a hand on Harry's shoulder as support, granting the emerald-eyed youth the courage to go on "I am serious… Ron."

Ron swallowed, shaking his head fervently "No."

Harry nodded, dark strands flopping over his eyes.

"Oh no…"

"Yes." Harry said and looked in Ron's eyes with genuine honesty.

"When?" Ron screeched; voice disturbingly high-pitched all of a sudden.

"Last night." The Gryffindor whispered, sparing Ron any details.

Ron let himself drop back into the welcoming support of the couch and pillows, and held on to Hermione's hand as if his life depended on it. Or rather his sanity. "But you hated each other…"

"Well… turns out he's one hell of a kisser…" Harry tried to joke, hoping to lighten the mood. No such thing though.

Ron folded his arm over his eyes "No details." He pleaded, trying to concentrate on Hermione's thumb rubbing the back of his hand.

"I can't help the way I'm feeling…" Harry told him, eyes downcast, as if he were hoping to find an answer on the ground.

"And what if he turns his back on you? What if he betrays you?" Ron asked with a clear voice, peeking at Harry from under an arm.

The emerald eyed youth was pleasantly surprised as Ron seemed to be worried more about his safety than about the fact that he was having a relationship with their former nemesis. "I know… but I trust him." he ran a hand through his black hair.

And then Alex's soft voice answered the unspoken question. "Drake's gone back home, risking his life. He's joined the Light side… they probably won't kill him just yet. They'll ask him to prove his loyalty… thus getting Marked." Her voice choked and she looked at the bracelet in her hand palm.

"Either he accepts the invitation or they'll kill him." Blaise finished softly, bright brown eyes glazed over, conveying his pain.

Ron watched the last retreating back disappear through the portrait hole. Harry had left with Alex and Blaise, wanting to know more about what exactly was awaiting the Slytherin. With a growl he sharply punched a pillow.

Finbar looked up from the book Firenze gave him; something he was really enjoying. It was about ancient magic theories. The oldest one was the Elemental theory; it talked about the seven elements needed for complete harmony… though he was vaguely confused as he could only count four: Fire, Earth, Wind and Water, but then again he only were in the intro so far.

Hermione put a hand on Ron's arm for support. She knew how hard it was for him, and she'd been so proud when he hadn't exploded to Harry. He really was the best friend Harry could wish for as he had realized that the raven head had been quite upset about Draco's sudden departure, even if he tried to joke it away.

"My best friend's dating the guy I hate the most…" He sighed resting his head in his hands. "I can't believe it… And I didn't see it…"

Hermione smiled understandingly "I think neither of them really saw what was happening until last night…"

"And then I'm not really mad because it's Malfoy of all people, but what will he do if he betrays him?" Ron asked, outing his deepest concern.

Not looking up from his dusty book, Finbar replied "He won't."

"And what makes you so sure of that, Wolfman?" Ron said on a heavy sigh.

This time he looked up and smiled lopsidedly as he tapped his index finger under his right eye.

Ron opened his mouth, then shut it. He looked from Finbar to Hermione and then at Seamus. "I don't know…"

Neville glowered. "How can you all be so calm about this? This is Malfoy we are talking about!" He stood up and paced through the room "You know what he's like. Look at what he's done to us; he called Hermione a you-know-what, he insulted Ron's family multiple times, he's been rude and mean to me. He's the son of a Death Eater." He stopped in front of the fireplace, drawing in an uneven breath. He turned around "For all I know, he's being Marked right now, as a reward for seducing Harry, winning valuable information and leading us all to defeat."

Now it was Lavender's time to speak up. "Please, Neville calm down." She twirled a lock of hair between her fingers, biting her lower lip. "I can understand how you feel and I certainly don't approve it either… but I think we should give them a chance when Malf-…Draco," she corrected "comes back."

"If he comes back." Dean added.

**Next Day.**** Dinner. **

Harry staggered into the Great Hall, head hanging, feet dragging. He hadn't eaten since Draco had left. He simple wasn't hungry and being himself, he'd already lost weight again as Finbar worryingly had pointed out he could count Harry's ribs.

Christmas had always been something he'd enjoyed at Hogwarts, seeing as everybody shared the same table, even though the table was considerably longer this year as most elder students had stayed over for Christmas. This was the safest place after all. Yet Harry couldn't suppress a feeling emptiness as he remembered last Christmas.  
Sirius... God how he missed him; more than he could afford. His attempts with the mirror hadn't brought up anything save for his own reflecting scowling back up at him. A deep ache filled him and unshed tears stung his eyes. He was finding it hard to accept that he would never see Sirius again, never hear him laugh again, talk to him, joke with him, be with him, anything. He was dead.

A wave of sound, the merest whispers, shot through the Hall, higher years turning and exchanging meaningful glances with higher years from the other houses.

Harry frowned and checked whether he'd forgotten to put on pants. Then he remembered. _Right… The kiss. _He tried to keep his face blank as he continued his way up to his usual spot in between Ron and Hermione. He slumped down and grunted a reply to Hermione's forced cheerful 'Goodmorning!'.

Harry's anxiety shot upwards as the whispering didn't cease but continued on as he weren't there in the first place.  
Seeking her out on his radar he seemed to have developed for her, he let his eyes be drawn to where he felt her. Automatically Alex raised her eyes to look at him, smiling weakly in return. Glad he wasn't the only one looking like a complete mess today… Alex was in quite a similar state; dark bags under her eyes, white hair a tangled mess, and definitely a few pounds skinnier. Her cheeks were hollow and her shoulders were clearly visible even under the thick sweater she'd probably stolen from Blaise.

He pushed his dinner around on his plate, trying to distract himself from all the gossip being exchanged around the table. Great, another thing to make him special.

**That night, 1:04**

Barefooted, Harry padded through the cold castle, rubbing his arms to chase away the biting cold. He'd sought refugee in his silent walks through the castle at night, trying to sort out whatever he was feeling. No way could he deny the attraction he felt for the Slytherin, but there was more…As Harry had watched him go, he had felt as if his heart had left with him. Things… couldn't have changed that quickly, could they? And then there was the dull ache in his chest that belonged to the fact that Sirius was not here. Why was it that whenever he got close to anybody, they'd get into trouble? Or worse; die.

Suddenly a familiar voice startled Harry out of his musings: "Would you like a cup of hot cocoa?"

They sat at the table, two silent figures, each with their own private fears, neither of them knowing what to think or say. Steeling himself, he looked straight into Remus' eyes and said "I don't know what to do."

Remus leaned forward, lacing his fingers together. He frowned down in the brown and warm drink, inhaling the sweet scents, thinking about what exactly he should say. Periodically chewing on his lower lip he looked back up at his best friend's son. "I won't lie to you Harry…" he began hesitantly "I was rather… _surprised…_ when he kissed you."

"Bet he felt the same way…" Harry mumbled weakly, stirring his cooling cocoa with an index finger.

He tilted his head sideways, observing the young man in front of him. "What happened between the two of you…?"

Putting his finger in his mouth and tasting cocoa, Harry frowned, seriously contemplating that question himself. "Well… I don't know really. It wasn't like –bang- there it was… but…" he shrugged "I don't know… he's changed so much and when I began to feel attracted…" he trailed off, how _was_ he supposed to explain anyway? He didn't understand himself, starting this year he had been ready to drink his blood and just now they've kissed each other. But Draco was… intoxicating, something he'd always go back for.

Remus smiled at Harry's complete and utter confused expression. "It's not that I disapprove it Harry, don't worry." He reassured him as the-boy-who-lived glanced up at him quickly as if fearing to see nothing but disgust on the werewolf's face. "But you can't blame me for not knowing how to handle this."

Nodding, Harry grinned slightly "Don't know how to handle this myself either. Then how are you supposed to?"

Remus hmm-ed as he took a sip form his steaming mug. "I just want you to be careful…"

It took surprisingly a lot of restraint to keep himself from jumping to Draco's defense. But he could understand how others felt about their improbable relationship…  
Now there was another thing to chew upon; what had they anyway? Were they a _couple_ now? And if they were, how much of it was purely physical attraction and how much emotional?

Watching as different expressions crossed over Harry's face, the werewolf felt his heart reach out to the young Gryffindor. Trying to save Harry from his turbulent emotions threatening to suck up all his energy and inner-peace, he offered him some candy he'd brought back from his trip to Hogsmeade.

Harry picked out a Chocoball, deciding that it had been a while since he'd eaten one of those. Something awfully sugary might be able to soothe his tense body.

Reluctantly Remus helped himself to a Pepper Imp; head propped up a fist "These were Sirius favorites…" Closing his eyes, he pushed the candy in his mouth. He chewed experimentally. So far so good… Or not. Feeling like somebody had poured boiling hot lava into his mouth, he gasped for air as a burning pain tore at his tongue, mouth and throat.

While sat there clutching his throat Harry had jumped up to fetch him a glass of water. Accepting the cool liquid, he downed it in one motion.

Gasping for air he uttered dryly "Good Heavens…" a puff smoke left his mouth.

Harry stared blankly at Remus before both of them burst out in laughter. Hiccupping and holding their stomach they felt all the built-up tension relieve itself, a lazy content feeling taking its place.

Wiping away tears of laughter and settling down, vaguely realizing it hadn't been that hilarious, Harry sighed deeply. A nostalgic smile spread over his features, very similar to the look Remus had on his face.

"Moony?"

"Hmm."

"Do you think they could… hear us?" Harry whispered clumsily.

Remus' amber eyes took in the lonely longing Harry carried in his eyes. But he felt exactly the same… it was as if Sirius was closer than ever yet further away all the same. "Yes. I'm sure they can."

**The Night Before Christmas.**

Harry lifted a pale and elegant hand to brush away those annoying strands of silky blonde hair and keep them from flopping back into his face. Harry's latent memory pointed out that he didn't have hands like those, let alone blonde hair, but he was busy enough trying to keep up with the conversation between his father (since when did he have a father?) and the Dark Lord. Narcissa offered him some more bread. He refused; stomach had been upset ever since he'd been informed that 'Uncle Voldemort' would be staying over for dinner. They were talking about something concerning an attack that would be plotted soon, but both of them were using keywords he didn't understand. He only knew it wouldn't be pretty.

With a sigh he whirled his wine around in the crystal goblet, studying the little vortex he'd created. He really didn't like being toyed with, it was really starting to grate his nerves; first the whole forced polite and caring welcome he'd received, secondly the amount of presents he'd received early for his Christmas and now a celebrating dinner.

Realizing the conversation was over, Harry's guard tightened once again. Lucius looked at him. This was it.

And then the dream changed, Harry was pulled back, as if floating to the ceiling and looking down on the scene beneath him. Suddenly it all made sense, as he saw Draco leaning back casually on his chair, legs crossed, foot bouncing up and down to vent his nervousness.

This was no dream… this was really happening. Yet different than all other experiences he'd had before. First of all he'd started off in Draco's point of view and now he was observing the scene in some detached manner, as if watching memories in a pensive; only he could feel the tension thicken and unspoken conversations being held.

Lucius dabbed his lips with a linen napkin "A toast to my son." He said, pausing as he rose from his chair; a small smile pealing onto his face "A genius."

Draco tried to ignore the boring stare of Voldemort and any other signs of confusion. Not wanting to have to look at either of them, he lifted a bite of lobster from his plate.

"But I'm curious, son, how did manage to win that old fool's trust?"

Draco stared at him, baffled; lobster dropping unceremoniously back on his plate with a splat. They thought it was a set-up. He let out a small laugh, but didn't really know what to say. The damn irony of it all.

His father smiled generously at him and it pained Draco to know that it would be the last time. It pained him to know his father only did so because he thought his own son had betrayed Dumbledore's trust, ready to spy for the Dark Lord and crawl in submission.

"Don't look so surprised son!" Lucius said jovially "I'm really proud."

Now Voldemort rose from his chair, the hammering in Draco's skull increasing. He still hadn't said a word and somehow Draco knew he wasn't fooled, even as he was perfectly composed; eyes and facial expression devoid of any emotion. The Dark Lord was prying into his brain; it felt like mud being dug up in a clear river.

Lucius continued his speech, unaware of the growing tension between The Dark Lord and his son "So…" he said almost excitably "Our Master has decided that it would be entirely appropriate if you were initiated too."

Draco stared at them blankly, mind reeling. Only one realization rang clearly in his head 'I'm toast.'

He took a deep breath and rose himself now, even though he couldn't stop his fists from trembling "Never." He said softly. Narcissa gasped, covering her mouth with a delicate hand.

The expression on his father's sharp face would have been amusing if the circumstances hadn't been life-threatening.

Louder now, he repeated "Never. I'd rather die."

A few seconds passed away in crushing silence.

"Naturally." was all the Dark Lord said as he waved his hand dismissively. "Lucius!"

Narcissa was sobbing softly, whispering pleading sounds as she scrambled up and ran to Lucius' side. "Darling!" she tugged at his arm desperately "Please! Don't…"

Lucius shrugged her off harshly, finally coming to his senses. "Prepare yourself boy." He said hoarsely.

It surprised Draco how calm he felt, even though it saddened him to know his own father choose that maniac over his own blood. He raised himself defiantly, meeting equal slate grey eyes without blinking.

Lucius' wand shook as he pointed it at Draco's chest "Crucio!"

Harry screamed to no avail, trying to reach Draco; a tremor ran over his spine as he heard another voice scream the blonde's name in unison with him. Alex! She was here! Suddenly a piece of this puzzle clicked in place. Not even a week ago, he'd shared a nightmare with her; he'd even cried her tears. And right now, although he didn't know how it was possible, Alex seemed to be connected to Draco in some way, and Harry in turn was connected with Alex. He was seeing what she was seeing. This was Alex's vision.  
He cried Draco's name out again, sheer panic taking over the ability to reason clearly. But then his eyes widened when he saw that although the Unforgivable had hit him in full force, Draco was till standing, head thrown back, eyes pressed shut, fists shaking. He was fighting against the Dark Curse. Impossible.

Sweat pearled on his forehead, he couldn't breathe, and he could feel his heart protest in his chest. But Draco didn't scream, he didn't even whimper. He would not give them the satisfaction. He refused. It would all be over soon anyway.

The rushing between his temples became deafening, but he could make out Voldemort's furious growl, "Damn boy…" and he knew a second wand was being pointed at him. A wand that held the same core as Harry's. Such irony.

"Crucio!"

The second Unforgivable joined the first.

Draco was moved from his feet with enough violence to kill. He went hurtling through the air and landed sharply against the wall. He stumbled and fell to his knees, coughing up bright ribbons of blood that spattered and then sank into the expensive carpet. He could hear his mother's piercing scream, faint in his ears. He bit his tongue and drew blood, yet he didn't even realize it; all his remaining sane and coherent thoughts focusing at the unbearable pain in his chest. His mouth fell open in a soundless cry, eyes widening in horrification as the pressure in his chest doubled. And then the last wave of agony consumed him, the alien throbbing in his torso releasing itself through a deathly explosion. Pain pierced him one last time. Blood was dripping from his body. He could feel it.

_DRACCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

Harry screamed the name out loud, while Alex's voice rang in his head in unison with him. As soon as the clear sound ebbed away it was replaced by an all-consuming pain in his forehead. Or maybe it had been there all along, because he could already feel warm blood seeping from his scar, down his nose and over his chin. Shocked, Harry opened his right hand and caught the drops dripping steadily from his face. Within seconds a puddle had formed in his palm.  
He stumbled from his bed, falling to his knees. Rustling and damped voices was all that came through. Someone touched his shoulder. Instinctively he bolted up, fists flying. Alex training sessions were starting to pay off. He only swatted air though, as he was too weak and disorientated.

"Harry…" Ron slumped down next to him on the cold floor. He didn't look too good. Another movement caught his eye as Finbar leaned against the wall, panting heavily. "We have to go outside Harry." Ron mumbled.

Harry shook his head in confusion. "W-what?"

"She is waiting for us…" he breathed, trying to pull to himself to his feet "I have to go there. Help her."

Trying to shake Ron out of his trance, Harry pleaded "Ron! Are you okay?"

The redhead caught Harry's gaze, his eyes clear. "It's okay." And then he staggered out of the room.

Finbar pushed himself of the wall "The Wheel of Fate turns." He murmured, looking at Harry with a pained expression. "We cannot stop it." Then he followed out after Ron.

Seamus, Dean and Neville gathered around him. "W-w-w-ha…" The Irish boy surprisingly enough managed to stutter.

He turned to look at them. They were unaffected. Speaking of which… going outside didn't seem to be such a bad idea. Outside would be much better. _No_ why would he? Why would he want to go outside? Trembling in frustration he made a decision. "Guys; warn Dumbledore and tell him to go outside…"

Before any questions could be asked, Harry sprinted after his two friends. "Bring Pomfrey too!" he yelled as he ran down the stairs, into the Common Room and just in time to see Hermione hop through the portrait hole. Harry hurried after her through the hallways, catching up with her.

"Hermione!"

"I have to go…" she slurred "Outside. She needs our help."

Harry's mind worked in top-speed. What was going on? Suddenly he understood; Imperious. Oh no. His friends were possessed. Buy why them? He could feel the voice urging him to comply, but he'd always been able to throw it off. Weird enough his companions still seemed to have a choice themselves. They didn't want to resist.  
Realizing they were running down the marble staircase and nearing the Entrance Gates, he tried to blank his mind and follow his instinct instead. The door was already open and snow sprayed in as a dancing waterfall, coating the floor white with flakes. The soles of his feet left narrow footprints in the cold layer as he passed through the gates and into the night. The moon was high in the sky, stained a pale yellow.

Skidding to a stop, Harry took in the scene in growing horror:

Alex sat serenely in the white snow, legs folded neatly underneath her, and arms spread wide with palms facing forward. Her entire body glowed with a soft golden light. A muggle surely would have mistaken her for some sort of angel, but a wizard, such as Harry, could feel the air brimming with strongly concentrated magic. But it was a force he'd never felt before, it sharpened his senses and made his soul call out in recognition.

Blaise was already sitting in the snow next to Alex. Noticing their presence, he smiled slightly up at them, yet fear spoke in his eyes. He took the young woman's hand in his right and held his left out to Harry. He cast one last glance at Alex' face, whose eyes had been closed the whole time. Slowly, he kneeled into the snow next to Blaise, accepting the offer of his hand. Hermione sat down next to him and automatically he entwined their fingers as well. Finbar lowered himself next to her and finally Ron between Finbar and Alex. A circle had been formed.

Alex opened her eyes. They were brimming in the dark as two unearthly big, green fireflies. She mouthed a 'thank you'.

And then it began. She tilted her head backwards, eyes looking up in the sky as her lips started to form words of a language that didn't really exist, yet one that every living being knew. A language every presence carried deep within them, a language every one could speak, if only they searched for it. The language of the soul.  
A sharp pain shot around the circle as her mantra became more urgent, words and sounds spilling fluently from her lips. Each one of them could feel something respond deep within them, as if it had been awakened from a long slumber. Harry could hear Hermione gasp next to him as each one of them began to glow as well. Suddenly a glittering dome of pale yellow light enclosed them as if a bowl had been overturned onto the circle.  
The air around them started to buzz as Alex continued to extract magic out of them, concentrating in the centre.  
Harry groaned as the suction intensified, a last hurdle of gathering magic reaching its peek. And then if went fast: the light seemed to shape between them. First there was only light. But the light thickened and swelled until it was no longer light.

A horrified shout left Harry's lips as Draco suddenly lay in their midst. Slate grey eyes stared lifelessly up at the sky, mouth open and dried blood on his lips. Chest split in two. Literally. Tears rolled over his cheeks as he could simple see into his body, and make out the crushed ribcage, torn tissue and shredded flesh.

Every soul within earshot turned cold at the keening wail that rose from Harry's lips.

Thankfully it also shook Alex out the stupor of initial shock. She crawled over to his body, cradling him close to her, biting back her own tears, swallowing her cries. No time now, she needed to bring him back. Make him breath. She had to tell him. Tell him that they needed him. Tell him that she loved him. Tell him that they were…

The nauseating smell of burning flesh penetrated her nostrils to the point of having to vomit. But instead she gritted her teeth and covered the wound with her hand. Barely, the gash was wider than the full length of her hand and about five times longer. The mantra rolled once again from her lips as she rocked back and forth slightly, but the words were laced together in a song, an eerie prayer.

At first nothing seemed to happen. And nothing really did until… Draco was breathing once more. Somewhere during Alex's ancient mantra, everyone exclaimed softly as they noticed Draco breathing in time with Alex; slow, careful breaths. Blood bubbled up from his lips and from jagged cracks in his skin, but he was certainly more alive than he had been a few moments ago. All eyes were transfixed by the chilling sight of one woman trading half her life away to save a friend. As the minutes ticked away, Alex's shirt became soaked with Draco's blood and her own skin became paler in contrast. The healing spells could no longer hold back completely the havoc she was wreaking on her own body, and her skin shaded to a pale, deathly gray.

With a shot off sheer panic Alex realized she could not save him. Not without having to trade her own life for his. Shaking her head franticly, Alex looked up, her gaze sweeping one last time through the circle. Wait! Her eyes landed on Harry's tear stained face. If only…

Suddenly Harry keeled over, writhing in the snow as if he ingested snakes. He could feel something that didn't belong to him creeping through his body making his intestines twist and turn within him. Suddenly he heard a voice as he retched again:

_Sorry! Oh Harry I'm so sorry… I-I didn't mean to hurt you. _

Unbelievingly he raised his head, only to see Alex's body lying lifelessly in the snow while Draco's contracted with spastic movements. Within seconds he was bowed over both bodies, trembling in pure shock.

_Harry! It's okay! I'm okay! _

"A-Alex…?"

_Yes, it's me. No time to explain now. Help me…please._

"H-how?" he stammered out loud.

_You can heal him. Only you can… _

"B-but I…"

_No time Harry! Please! We have to be quick! Feel me. I'm right here._

The hairs in his neck rose as a wave of soft bustling energy washed over him.

_Right here._

Deep within him something responded.

_Feel me. Don't worry. You'll know. We'll do this together. He's still here. Bring him back. _

And then, automatically, he reached out to Draco's limp form and resolutely placed both hands on his chest. And then he spoke. An ancient instinct carried him away on a language he didn't understand. And almost immediately the damaged home of Draco's soul responded, and the wound twisted under his shaking fingers. But his immense relief couldn't compare to the horrified shout leaving his lips as agonizing pain exploded within his own chest.

_Trust me! I won't let you go. I promise. _

Harry nodded, not really realizing it was rather unnecessary. Thus he gritted his teeth, as he shared his own life with Draco, starting to rock back and forth just like Alex had done. His lips moved faster, the prayer turning more desperate. Sweat beaded on his forehead, refusing to give up on the young man he'd only just begun to know. The mantra became groan and finally a shout, followed by roaring in his ears, an unbearable flash of pain and then… nothing.

Darkness. Complete, never-ending and ever-lasting darkness. He couldn't remember how long he'd been here; he didn't even know where 'here' was. There was no here, no there, no nothing. Just this endless darkness. He could go up, he could go left, right and down. But he'd always end back up here. If he'd really moved at all. He couldn't tell.  
Utter dark turned slowly to a ruddy haze, and by the time he'd floated to the top of his formless dreams, he began to be aware of several things. He was alive. That fact hit him like a sledgehammer.

Eyelids were drowsily pulled up to reveal watery, confused slate grey eyes. Groaning, Draco sat up, clutching his head. His attention though was rather quickly drawn to something stirring besides him.

"Arck!"

Within a heartbeat both young men were standing at either side of some unknown bed. He met the equally startled expression of Harry looking all tow-headed, sleep-mussed and adorable. He only was wearing nothing but low-slung white linen trousers.

Draco came first out of his stupor. "Wow, déjà-vu…" he said with a lopsided grin and started to walk around to the back of the bed, realizing they were in the hospital wing. _Huh?_

Letting out a relieved snigger Harry moved to stand next to him, willing the fuzzy fog clouding his brain to go away. Draco turned to look at him, shrugging.

Harry's eyes widened, and his breath hitched.

Tilting his head sideward, Draco squinted at him." What?" he asked, before smirking full-out "See something you like?"

It was then Draco realized the expression wasn't one of pleasant surprise. His eyes were pulled in the direction Harry was staring. Trembling, he raised his hand to his chest. Fingers traced the long scar that ran diagonally across his chest. His once stainless and faultless skin was carved by rough, reddish scar, running from his right shoulder down to the left side of his ribcage.

And then images came flooding back into his mind as a tidal wave. His usual look of smugness and haughtiness was replaced by sheer panic and terror as a sharp ache pierced his chest. That ache suddenly intensified, unbearably. He let out a strangled, sharp cry as he fell to his knees, instinctively trying to bundle up.

Within his own pain, he hadn't noticed Harry doing _exactly_ the same thing. Both young men were gasping for air, clutching the place where their heart thudded unevenly against the protesting ribcage.

As in a dream, both moved a hand towards each other without even realizing it. The moment their fingertips brushes, they entwined their fingers. The pain left as soon as it had come.

"What the hell is going on here?" Draco demanded at no-one in particular, as he got up more straight to his knees. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Hush…"

Both heads turned to look at Dumbledore whom was looking at them with uncovered amazement. "You'll wake your relative…" he said, gesturing at the bed next to them.

Scrambling up to his feet, dragging the Gryffindor with him, Draco frowned at the previously unnoticed form sleeping soundlessly in the bed next to theirs. Alex.

"My best friend." he corrected.

Dumbledore smiled at the Slytherin in an enigmatic way, blue eyes twinkling softly.

"Your sister."

---

BEFORE anyone goes: 'His sister? That's so cliché!' …wait me out on this one cause it doesn't quite turn out how it usually does in most fics... But then again I love evil cliffhangers XD

People, I need you to be painfully honest on this chapter with me, because I _will _go as far as re-writing it all over again, cause this chapter is crucial to the WHOLE DAMN STORY! (can you tell I'm a little stressed out about it?). And other than that, I'm aware that it might be a little dramatic, but I just couldn't resist, geheh…


	18. Revelations and Complications

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic. **

**By Wihstrum**

**Chapter Eighteen: Revelations and Complications.**

Bereft of speech and blood draining from his face, Draco swayed slightly as he tried to get hold of something to keep him from fainting. Harry being closest found himself grabbing the blonde before he could keel over. All the while Draco's eyes never left the face of his so-called sister.  
His brain worked at top-speed: Her eyes were green whilst his were artic grey, her hair was white yet his was silvery-blonde, her face was soft and inviting but his was sharp and stoic, her cheeks and nose were covered with numerous freckles though he hadn't even had half of what she had spread over his body, and lastly; even though it was in the middle of the winter her skin remained bronze-colored while his was as pale as moonlight.

Meanwhile Harry had his own inner struggle and was frowning rather disbelieving himself.  
"_You are the one that has to end this nonsense, thus also stopping him from making something like me ever again. He failed to get me under his command, but who knows what happens next time?"_  
He recalled her saying during their first training session. Make, she'd accidentally slipped the word in her haste. But if what she'd said had been true, than that would mean Dumbledore was lying…

Draco shook his head defiantly; eyes shadowed darkly, "It's impossible... First of all, she looks about our age and we are most definitely not twins and second of all, when I was born my mother had several internal bleedings… sadly enough resulting in her uterus being removed."

Conjuring a fluffy chair for himself, Dumbledore sat down. "True." He admitted, still smiling mysteriously.

That was what it took to let Draco's patience snap and crumble to dust "Okay that's it! I want some explanations!" He stood up, unconsciously dragging Harry with him. "Now!" he added imperiously.

"First of all. How did I get here?" he held up his index finger, while his gaze flicked down to his scarred chest. "Alive nonetheless?"

"Second of all; what's the bloody hell are you babbling about Alex being my sister?" his thumb joined the index finger and his cheeks flushed red in frustration.

"And third of all…" he hissed, lifting his and Harry's joined hands for emphasis. "How?"

Although Harry winced at Draco's harsh words, he couldn't help but silently agree with him. Groaning quietly he massaged his left temple with his free hand.

"Calm down Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore ushered him gently.

But it seemed that only Harry managed to catch the distinct order laced in-between the gentle tone as Draco's fury hit boiling-point. "CALM DOWN?" he screeched, letting go of Harry's hand as he leaped forward. Only to sink to the floor bonelessly, crying out in pain.

Harry let out a sharp breath and felt like crumpling to a pathetic heap. Sharp pain seared through his chest; as the rhythm of his heart shook unsteadily, writhing on the bed and gasping for air. All of a sudden the pain ebbed away and it took a while to realize that Draco was clinging on his leg as if his life depended on it.  
And it did, they were somehow bonded, Harry suddenly realized as he tried to sit up straight. "H-how long?"

"A week." Dumbledore answered solemnly.

Somewhere on the ground Draco let out a murmur of dismay and Harry quickly helped him back up the bed. All the while Alex hadn't even stirred, the only proof she was alive was that her chest rose and fell, even if it were barely visible. Her features were worn and haggard and sickly colored. Her eyes seemed to be sunken deeper into her skull, black marks surrounding them. Her white hair lay sprawled around her head, tangled and messy. But she breathed.

Apparently Draco had her noticed her poor physical health as well since he stiffened rigidly, "Is she okay?" came his barely audible whisper.

"She's suffering from magical exhaustion… but she'll be fine if she remains from using magic for the remained of this week…" Dumbledore explained with a grave tone in his voice.

"And the others…? Are they alright?" Harry queried, eyes going wide as events from last night seeped in again more clearly.

"Yes Mr. Potter, no need to panic. All four of them are doing just fine even though they, too, are not allowed to use any form of magic just as Alex is, but they weren't so badly affected. Tired and upset, yes, but doing fine." He turned his piercing gaze to Draco, the latter returning it defiantly "Your death affected them in ways they couldn't imagine."

"Death?" Draco choked out as all rebellious resistance left him instantly. He'd actually died?

"Yes. Death." Dumbledore continued to eye him thoughtfully from over his half-moon spectacles. "That's why the two of you are bonded to each other. What you used, Harry, was some form of ancient magic, forgotten over time. You traded your life-force in order to restore Draco's body and secondly you did something no-one has succeeded in doing so far: reviving a person without the actual use of Dark Magic. The other side of that resulted in the two of you being bonded with goal to fully restore each of your life-force until you are able to let go of each other again."

"And that is…in a week?" Draco spoke softly, having too much trouble to take in all this information at once.

Dumbledore's mouth was struggling to hold back a smile. "One week in which you can't separate… and a second week in which you two should be able to let go of each other for about an hour or four. The time determined of letting go should increase as the week progresses."

Bound to Draco. 24/7. How was he going to survive? Snogging and kissing was one thing, but to _be_ with the Slytherin, all the time?

"And… we have to be touching each other." Came the hoarse reply. Apparently the blonde couldn't quite believe what was being said. "All the time?"

"Yes…" The smile flicked onto his face "Preferably skin-to-skin contact." He smiled full-out now, rather close to grinning, disturbingly out of character both young men found.

"Bloody Merlin." Harry breathed rather desperately.

"As for how you got here…" Dumbledore went on quickly as Draco's right eye twitched. "You should thank six people for that…"

Remembering the scene of the circle Harry whispered "Blaise, Hermione, Ron, Finbar, me and…" Sadly, he looked over to the sleeping form in the bed next to theirs "Alex."

"Correct." Dumbledore answered "And that's where your blood tie lies…"

Draco frowned and unconsciously leaned closer to Harry's warm torso. "So I really am…" he swallowed convulsively, "Her brother?"

"Theoretically… yes." The ancient wizard said "Technically… no."

Risking a look at Draco's face, the Gryffindor saw he was close to getting a nerve-breakdown.

"Let me explain: Officially, Alex could never be your sister." He said clearly; leaving the information to seep in.

"As she is not human." came another voice, which was distinctly different, colder and sleeker then the Headmaster's.

Snape glided closer to their bed, moving like a shadow with as much noise. His gaze lingering on Harry and Draco's entwined fingers with disgust, and especially as he saw Draco leaning ever-so-slightly against Harry's shoulder. But he continued, even if it were with more venom: "Her vessel bears the same genetic composing as yours; the blood that runs through both your veins is related. In theory."

"Vessel?" Harry whispered.

A sneer was directed at him "Yes, Potter, vessel. The body we created for It to live in. 'Alex' itself, didn't have anything to do with being human at first."

"She what?" Draco slurred.

Snape seemed edging nearer to losing his patience, "Alex, is in fact the first magic essence with an 'intelligent' awareness, as if so to speak."

Dumbledore took back over "We humans find ourselves worthy enough to decide what is or isn't intelligent. Sadly enough there are numberless interpretations to the word 'intelligent'. You should ask young Mr. Ganad for more insight…"

"Anyway…" Snape drawled, not really appreciating the interruption "The original plan was to imbue the 'aware magic' into a dragon, or something powerful… as she was designed to be the ultimate weapon for war. But then a dragon proved to be too big and obvious for enemies in a tactical battle… we thought long, deciding on the perfect disguise for a lethal weapon. We chose a young woman."

"And 'we' being?" Harry growled despite his efforts not to.

Snape looked at him calculatingly, after a while he answered, without diverting his eyes "Lucius Malfoy, The Dark Lord and I…"

Harry nodded, secretly admiring for the Potions Master's honesty.

"Speaking of which… As we sought out the ingredients for creating an empty vessel, we stumbled upon a complication. Besides the very rare ingredients already needed such as a Wyvern's Heart, Nectar of the Desert Flower Bayan, Materialized Moonlight and a Dragoon's Skeleton… we needed blood and seed. Seed of a man… Lucius was the one who took on that responsibility.

The vessel was completed, the aware energy fused with it. It was a success…" He sighed and looked at Alex's face and Harry was surprised to see genuine sorrow "And that's when I called upon Abus's help… I realized I'd created the perfect weapon, with no free-will nor the ability to question her actions."

With a vexed sort of sigh, Snape paused, eyes narrowing against the upcoming headache "And that's something nobody deserves; all should be able to have a choice. The solution was rather obvious; we had to give her a personality. Of course, that was a very delicate task; and the only way to know whether we succeeded was to leave her to develop it further on her own accord. I am very pleased with results."

"That still doesn't explain how she got me here…" Draco said with a leaden voice. Yet Harry knew that beneath the dull tone of his voice a veiled pain lurked, of forcing himself not to feel what he instinctively wanted to.

"One can't apparate someone else. But the identical genetic structure you both share and your weak state allowed her to manipulate your body as it was drifting in unconsciousness. To achieve such strong display of High leveled energy, bordering on the edge of Dark, a lot of strongly concentrated magic was required…"

Dumbledore looked at them intently "Why exactly she chose the five of you to achieve that goal is beyond me… but such actions never come without even greater consequences…" The old sorcerer scratched his beard thoughtfully.

The question 'what consequences' must have shown on their faces because Dumbledore smiled at them, "But now your primary concern is to get better… Poppy will be here any moment with something for you two to eat and drink, along with your medicines…" And then he stood up, snapped his fingers at which the fluffy chair disappeared with a 'plop' and turned to leave.

Snape seemed having trouble deciding on how to behave. Eventually he said, tone bordering on respect, "It has only begun, and I hope you are as strong as everybody seems to think you are, Mr.Potter…" And strode out, robe billowing behind him.

Blinking, Harry considered the wizard's words as it reminded him of Finbar's words; _The Wheel of Fate Turns… we cannot stop it…_ How much more did Finbar know?  
And what was his part in this, save for ultimately trying to bring down Voldemort… _More likely me being brought down by The Dark Lord_, Harry thought bitterly.

Furthermore musing was interrupted as Draco suddenly murmured; voice soft and raw with emotion and frustration "I need to sit down…"

"You're already sitting…" Harry pointed out.

"Then I need to lie down…" the Seeker retorted, his chest felt painfully tight. With that he let himself fall back into the welcome soft blankets with a loud groan.

Feeling distinctly uncomfortable Harry slipped his hand out of Draco's tight grip, resting it on the other's knee instead. Great. What now?

Poppy came in not so long after, and made them eat a big chunk of chocolate with some Pumpkin juice to flush it down. Both were forced to down some awful tasting liquid and Harry suspected she'd slipped some sleeping draught into Draco's. A very strong one, so it seemed, since he keeled over as if he were hit with a stunner.  
That left Harry the tedious task of pulling his dead weight completely onto the bed and tuck him in. Draco was not very cooperative even if he were asleep, he just clamped onto Harry's arm, leaving the other crouched over rather immobile. With some nudging and prodding he crawled under the blankets next to Draco, pushing him off carefully. He was absurdly shy and didn't know why. Making sure one last time their ankles were touching Harry submitted to the welcome sleep himself.

Eyes fluttered open drowsily as the first gray hues were recognized as dawning morning, filtering through the curtains. That and Draco's head resting on the same pillow as his, face turned towards him, sleeping silently. Harry didn't want anything else than to lean over and meet those slightly parted lips with his own, but he found himself holding back. Would Draco allow him? A hollow feeling settled in his stomach as he thought about it. Besides being forced of holding on to each other, no hint of anything else had been shown. What if last week had only been a fling in Draco's turbulent and confusing emotions? Just one of those spur-of-the-moment things that meant nothing. He'd probably never expected to come back. Literally.  
Why did this upset him so much? _This was Draco_, a sharp painful voice inside his head spoke through the confused haze of his mind… _He hated you._

He allowed a trembling hand lifting up to touch Draco's cheek. One last time… he promised himself.

The moment the tip of his index finger made contact with Draco's skin, the eyelids of the previously thought to be sleeping Slytherin slid open.

"Good morning…" came the muffled greeting as he blinked a few times, fighting off the last shreds of sleep.

Harry didn't dare to utter a word nor a sound. He just looked at Draco with wide green eyes, sadness and terrible confusion evident even if he tried so hard to shield it.

"What?" Draco asked with some trepidation. "Did I grope you or something when I was knocked out?"

The expression in Harry's eyes softened, melted by the complete obliviousness in Draco's voice.

"Hn." Draco sighed, casting a reproachful look at him "You are weirded out by this." At 'this' he wriggled his leg Harry hadn't realized that had been entwined with his own. He moved to pull back some more.

In complete reflex Harry put a hand on his waist "No! No it's okay…" he stopped in mid-sentence, not knowing what exactly he should say.

Draco cocked an eyebrow and huddled away into the blankets, constructing a warm cocoon for himself. Settling down, he looked at Harry again, calculatingly. The Gryffindor swallowed audibly as the blonde trailed a finger over his jawbone, adding a little more huskily "Or was it because I didn't grope you enough?"

"I-I---I…" Harry stammered, cheeks crimsoning red.

Rolling his eyes and deciding to show him mercy, more because he was too tired to tease him some more, he wrapped an arm around Harry's waist and drew him close. "You Gryffindors really are too innocent and deprived of an outside life for your own good."

They lay in silence for a moment each enjoying the closeness and warmth of the others body.

_He seems so cold… but feels so warm._ The thought had barely crossed his mind and Harry found himself leaning forwards, seeking out Draco's lips and hands moving to hold the Slytherin's face, grazing the side of his cheek. He felt him responding and within a dizzying instant Draco was kissing him back, with tenderness Harry had never expected. His fingers trailed through Harry's thick black hair, causing the Gryffindor to get lost in the sensation. Feeling encouraged as slate eyed youth didn't object at all, he ran his tongue over Draco's lower lip. And pulled back, startled, as he felt a little ridge that shouldn't be there.

He winched as he recognized the healed-over split lip he'd delivered him little more than a week ago. Looking into Draco's eyes again, Harry raised a hand and covered the little scar with his thumb. When he removed it, the wound had disappeared, as if it never where there before.

"Couldn't you heal this one instead?" Draco muttered, hand covering the torn flesh on his chest.

Very slowly, Harry's hand traveled down from his face, over his neck and collarbone, to his chest to linger on the rough skin. "You've been touched by a curse. A very dark one, it can't be healed or removed."

Shivering under the feather-light touch, he tried to back away, very ashamed of his no-longer perfect body, with a hiss.

"I don't think it's ugly at all…" Harry hastened to assure him, as if he'd read the other's mind.

Draco shot him a resigned look, still rigid and annoyed.

"It's a part of your life; you shouldn't want it to go away… This is who you are." Harry whispered softly "You should be proud of it."

"I bet you know all about it, don't you?" Draco replied, eyes flicking over to the Boy-Who-Lived's forehead.

Scrunching up his nose Harry mumbled "Got me there." His eyes were drawn to the artic grey of Draco's with some kind of magnetic force. An uncomfortable silence entered the lapse in the conversation and neither of them wanted to ruin the delicate moment between the two of them, but Harry had to, he needed to be sure, "I think we need to talk…"

The slate grey eyes were diverted and focused on Harry's shoulder instead. "I know." He answered softly, throat dry and croaky.

"What is…'this'?" Harry asked.

He stiffened at the change in the raven head's voice; it was gentler, almost pleading for understanding. The question was phased oddly, but he knew exactly what the other meant, "You tell me." He retorted, "You were the one who kissed me."

Harry recoiled slightly, "Was it just a kiss to you?" he couldn't help his voice growing colder, "Just something to make you feel better at the moment?" Harry continued, trying to conceal the disappointment he felt.

Cringing, Draco immediately shot back, "Fool. If it were would I be holding you now?"

Harry's heart was pounding in his chest and he looked the Slytherin straight in the eye, looking for clues as to whether their feelings genuinely matched.

Locking their eyes in a quiet stare, Draco just couldn't help but smile softly. "You think too much." and bowed his head ever slightly until the tips of their noses met. It was then when something else within is mind seemed to wake, as if didn't really know what it was looking for. Reality hit him as he realized Alex was waking up. That barely crossed his mind, before he could feel her becoming aware of her surroundings and then a whopping wave of panic nesting in as she franticly sought out his presence.

He tiredly propped himself upright on his elbow so he could look over Harry frame and saw her willing her body to cooperate as she sat up straight, green eyes wide, mouth slightly parted as she spotted him.

_ I'm so glad you're alright. _Her mental voice shook with emotion and Draco felt a flood of feelings enveloping him, a mixture of fear and extreme bliss.Before anything else could be exchanged, her hand flew up to her mouth as she saw the huge scar marking his chest.

He cringed when he felt guilt entering his system. The damn girl was actually blaming herself for this? _Hush, its okay, _He told her silently, _it's only a scratch._ He tried in a ditch effort to assure her and immediately realized that had been about the stupidest thing he could have said.

_Scratch?_Came her sharp reply, _You call that a scratch? _

There was a surge of rebellious feeling along the link; a mental flood that did not consist of words but emotions was directed at him, images flashing before his eyes. He was momentarily disorientated, but regained his composure rather quickly, having been forced to get used to this from the moment they discovered they shared this special bond.

"Stop it Alex." Draco spoke out loud, his tone final.

This did not only startle his house-mate, but also Harry, who had been looking up at him thoughtfully for the duration of the telepathic conversation, completely unaware of Alex awakening. He rolled over to meet the sight of a completely disheveled Slytherin, gaze still sealed with Draco's. And he was struck by a sudden realization, "You can talk to each other via telepathy." He said abruptly.

Two pairs of eyes were directed at him "Very perceptive of you." Draco reacted evenly and then he tilted his head sideward while he narrowed his eyes, _Finally I know why._

Alex never left his gaze, _So now you know._

_Why didn't you tell me? _he asked slightly unsettled.

Alex gave him an incredulous snort _And you would have believed me?_

Draco had to affirm she was right. He never would have believed it. Suddenly he felt very unsure how to handle this; he just couldn't accept her differently. How was he supposed to treat her like family if he'd never even had siblings?

Alex must have felt his hesitation as she whispered into his mind,_ I know, Drake, don't worry._

Finbar's grip on the edge of the sink tightened as the buzzing between his ears once again intensified. Even though he was shaking all over his body, sweat beads pearled on his forehead and his stomach seemed to be filled with rocks. He held a hand out, skimming the wall as he re-tracked his way back to the common room. He did not understand; he'd become so adapt at reigning his Second Sight, but maybe seeing as previous night's events had shaken up his magic, these might just be the after-effects. He desperately tried to convince himself that this was true, but he knew that something fundamentally had changed.  
He didn't dare to open his eyes, he just wasn't able to handle what he saw, and even more it completely unstabled him. After great effort he managed to make it into the common room, and he thanked the gods that nobody was down there at the moment. He blindly tried to make his way over to one of the slouchy big sofas, but he didn't even get halfway as he was struck by a heavy magic ripple rolling through the room. His knees buckled and he sat down, breathing ragged and hoarsely.

The source of the magic ripple was closing in on him quickly, reeling Finbar's mind ever so more, but he was having too much trouble managing to breathe to ask it to stay where it was.

"Is friend of Mister Harry Potter alright, sir?" came a squeaky voice laced with clear concern.

Taking his chances, he opened his eyes as he really wanted to know what exactly he was talking to. He winched at the bright world around him when his vision suddenly went negative. It was as if the whole world was leaping up to swallow him; everything was too loud and the magical energy vibrated through the place, and Finbar felt awash with emotions that seemed to have come from nowhere. The pain in his head increased to the point where he heard himself whimper.  
Then he gritted his teeth and put all his experience from what he'd learned in Firenze's sessions to use. It was tedious, but finally he seemed able to discern aura from aura. Blinking the sweat out of his eyes, he turned to look at the presence who'd just spoken to him. He blinked once again in surprise when he recognized it as a House Elf.

"Does friend of Mister Harry Potter feel not well, sir? Must Dobby find help for you?"

Finbar really wanted to say something, but he failed even more so when a second magical presence entered the room.

But he was all too glad when he heard Ron's voice: "Bloody Merlin!"

Footsteps hurried closer and Finbar mentally screamed to stay away, but Ron had already put a hand on his shoulder. He roared in complete agony and curled up in a ball to protect himself.

Ron obviously took the hint and stepped back, "Finbar! Can you hear me?"

He shuddered at Ron's raw panic, but he managed to grunt.

The redhead turned to the house elf fidgeting nervously next to him, "Dobby, how long has he been down here?"

"Dobby is sorry sir, he doesn't know." Came the quick response, "Dobby came in here to clean, but Harry Potter's friend fell down when he did. Dobby is very sorry; he didn't do it on purpose."

"It's alright Dobby, don't worry." Ron assured him quickly, "Could you get McGonagall for me?"

The Elf nodded wildly, "Dobby will do so, sir." And disappeared with a 'plop'.

Finbar's muscles contracted at that, "No m-magic…" he pleaded.

Unsettled because he did not know to help his friend Ron carefully got upright, not wanting to disturb him even more as the werewolf seemed to be trying to sit up straight. He backed away until he was standing by the girls' stairs and just prayed for her to hear him as he called "Hermione!" not much response came though and Ron gave up calling after a few more times.

All of the sudden the door did creak open and Lavender's pretty face poked around it, "Ron! As happy as I am that the two of you finally got together, this is not the time to-" Her mouth froze to an 'o' as she saw Finbar still sitting in the middle of the common room, looking even worse than a warmed up corps.

"Don't come down!" He stopped her quickly "McGonagall is already on her way, but could you please wake Hermione?"

She cast one more worried look at Finbar and nodded, hurrying back up to her room. Moments later there was some rustling and damped talking.

He let out a sigh of relief when Hermione slowly walked down the stairs, a robe wrapped tightly around her to hold out the biting cold. Assuming that Lavender had warned her as she came to as stop next to him, but he could see her struggling to keep herself from running to the dark haired youth's side. "Finbar, are you alright?"

The werewolf let out a joyless laughter "I've been better." And he smiled weakly at what he thought to be their direction.

But then his world crashed down again as the portrait swung open and McGonagall came in. With a whimper he leaned on his hands and tried to keep himself from screaming out. And the fact that Ron shot through the room to stop the Head of Gryffindor didn't make him exactly feel better.

"Professor!" Ron stopped in front of her, barricading her from approaching Finbar "Something wrong, we can't touch him, it seems to hurt him."

"Understatement." Finbar managed with a lopsided grin, followed by another groan.

The elder Wizard took a calculating look at the young man on the floor and the youngest Weasley son could see the shock in her eyes, "Can you stand Mr. Ganad?"

Finbar took a deep breath; all the way down to the third floor was not exactly what he'd been planning to do "If nobody gets too close I might be able to get there in let's say… 5 months?"

McGonagall lips pulled into a tight line "But you can stand?"

"Guess I don't have much of a choice. Hospital Wing… is Alex there?" he asked hopefully.

She tilted her head with a frown, "Yes, and so are Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy."

"What are we waiting for then?" he grunted and pulled himself to his feet. He'd been aching to see her ever since they'd been separated 'that night' and other than that, he knew her presence would help him. And then he would also be able to see Harry and the Slytherin. Obviously the Gryffindors had been burning to visit them, but all they got was a 'no' and the consolation that both of them were in one piece.

"Ron, will you keep talking to me so I know where to go?"

"Sure Wolfman." His housemate replied softly, took up what he thought to be a safe distance and started to whistle.

It took longer than Finbar had feared for already his strength was giving up on him as they passed the fourth floor. The only reason he didn't give up was that known to be pure Gryffindor willpower and loyalty to the people he wanted to be with in the Hospital Wing. He concentrated hard on the conversation between Hermione and Ron before him.

Hermione shivered, and pulled her cloak around her. Under it she was only wearing her nightgown and the slippers on her feet did not held out the cold any longer.

Almost shyly and aware of McGonagall's eyes on them, Ron wrapped a protective arm around her. Of course he had not expected her to yelp in surprise.

"Ron! You are burning hot!" she put a hand to his forehead and shook her head in disbelief "Oh dear, you're feverish!"

The redhead gave her an odd look "I feel fine, although I've been feeling a little anxious after…what happened."

"No really Ron, this is not normal." She said urgently and touched his hand, "You're warm all over…"

Bright blue eyes turned to his girlfriend "Really 'Mione, I'm okay." But he had been feeling different, not bad, just different. He'd blamed it on Malfoy's sudden urge to play the valiant hero and them needing to save his skinny ass on Alex's behalf for doing so, but now he actually doubted that.

Harry was just spooning the last of his chocolate pudding in his mouth when the door was swung open only to let in his best friends. Truly relieved he shuffled to the edge of his bed, yet did not stand up as Draco was just blinking dazed and bleary eyed as he tried to focus on what was disturbing his much needed sleep.

"Ron! Mione!" he said with a big smile, but it was slapped away as he saw Finbar literally dragging himself after them. With a loud sigh the werewolf sat down in the middle of the room and took a deep breather.

Meanwhile Alex had caught on to the situation and was already forcing her weak body to cooperate as she slipped out of bed. Ignoring Pomfrey's disapproving shriek as she commanded her to get back in bed, the white-haired girl sank down to the floor next to the Gryffindor. Carefully she put a hand on his still bare torso, "Finbar?"

He let out a relieved laugh and slumped down in her arms "Just hold me." Was all he asked from her.

She wrapped both her arms around him, shifting him closer to her, defiantly trying to ignore the swarms of butterflies at the close contact "You're shaking, what's wrong?"

"Dobby found him like this in the common room, we couldn't touch him." Ron explained as he walked over to Harry's bed. And freezing to the spot as Draco finally poked his head out from under the blankets, blonde hair sleep-mussed and rubbing his eyes. And bare-chested. And in the same bed as his friend.

"You're alive!" was the first illegible thing he got over his lips.

Artic grey eyes were directed at him, "Glad to see you're so concerned about my well-being, Weasel, I'm delighted." Came the flat response. Running one hand through his blonde hair and resting the other on the small of Harry's back, he sat up. Immediately his eyes widened as he saw Alex trying to help Finbar to his feet. "What's going on?" he demanded, once again feeling that very un-Malfoy-ish wave of protectiveness coming over him.

"We don't know." Hermione provided, tilting her head at the Slytherin sharing a bed with Harry "Are you okay?" she asked tentatively.

Draco surely did not know how to react to that. Certainly not if it was a person he'd been calling a mudblood for five years. "I'm alright." He answered eventually and adding a little softer "Thanks."

This in turn took Hermione of guard. She smiled at him. Draco blinked.

Meanwhile Pomfrey pushed her way through the –in her opinion- much too crowded Hospital Wing and over to the Gryffindor leaning heavily on Alex.

Ron opened his mouth to stop her, but Finbar shook his head, "I'm okay now Ron. It's gone for now."

Reluctantly handing Finbar over in the care of Madame Pomfrey, Alex staggered back to her bed and sat down on it, eyes never leaving the nurse casting several diagnostic spells on the young man.

"I don't understand." The nurse said, "He seems alright."

McGonagall pursed her lips in a pensive way, "Can you explain what exactly happened Mr. Ganad."

Finbar leaned back on an elbow and ran a hand over his face, "It started this morning. I woke up, having to throw up, but it's not that time of the month yet."

"What are you, pregnant?" came the blonde Slytherin's vaguely amused retort to that.

Clear morning-blue eyes were narrowed at him, not hostile but sagacious, "I'm lycanthropic." Was the blunt reply, before he continued, "Anyway, 'it' was like in the beginning, but then ten times worse. It was too much; I didn't know what was happening."

The head of his house nodded solemnly "I'll speak with Firenze about it." She took a glance at her watch "As a matter a fact, I'll see to it right now, he always gets up early in the morning."

Finbar's eyes followed the retreating back of the professor and then switched to Harry, "You alright there Harry?"

The raven head cocked an eyebrow and cast a sideways glance at Draco, "Yeah…" he said with a soft smile "I'm alright."

"Madame Pomfrey?" Hermione spoke up, "Could you please check Ron too? He's burning hot with a fever."

Ron protested immediately, "I'm fine 'Mione!" but he was already undergoing a diagnostic spell.

Frowning after the third one, she put a hand to his forehead like Hermione had done, "Psychically nothing's wrong with him either, but you are right, his body-temperature is unusually high…" another spell was casted on him Pomfrey was shaking her head in utter disbelieve, "As a matter a fact, your body temperature is… b-but that's impossible."

"What?" Ron screeched; he did not like that look.

"It's 47 degrees."

The redhead found himself shaking his head at that, "But I feel okay!"

"H-how can that be?" Hermione said with an uneven and concerned tone as she experimentally touched Ron's face again, "No wonder he's all hallucinatory."

"Really now? I'm positive that's just the Weasley-way of life." Draco mused.

Ron's ears now turned pink and he gave a rather acid glare in the blonde's direction, "I'm not hallucinating, I'm fine! I really am!"

"Okay or not." Pomfrey grumbled and pushed a chunk of chocolate in Ron's hand "Eat." And even a bigger one in Finbar's hand. The werewolf's stomach lurched and he wrinkled his nose at it.

The six young wizards lapsed into an uncomfortable silence and only the scrunching of Ron devouring his chocolate and the nurse leafing through a huge tome, casting numerous glances in the redhead's direction, was audible. None spoke, but all of them felt one thing: something was missing. And that 'something' suddenly staggered into the Wing as if on cue, looking possibly even worse then Finbar.

It was Blaise.

No one knew why they all let out a relieved sigh as something clicked into place. But there was no time to think about that either as Pomfrey burst out: "You shouldn't be here, back to where you came from!"

The brown haired aristocrat gave her a cool glare, backed up by Snape's oily drawl, "He is here on my behalf."

"Don't worry Poppy, it is okay, we'll be gone soon." Dumbledore told her lightly as he nudged Blaise further in the room.

He sashayed up to the little crowd already gathered around the two beds, coming to a stop at the end of Harry and Draco's, "Glad to see you alright." He greeted, but not without a very funny glance in Harry's direction and an even odder one at Draco.

_He still can't get over the fact that you are, in fact, gay and snogging your arch-enemy _Alex provided mentally with all the subtly of a sledge-hammer.

Draco shot her a withering look, before turning his attention back to his dorm-mate, "Thank you. But may I ask what the hell happened to you? You look awful."

Blaise gave him a sour grimace, "Well thanks, that makes me feel a lot better." He ran a hand through his wavy brown hair, "But actually I've been having trouble sleeping. Nightmares about people being slaughtered." Everybody caught the clear expression of uneasiness on the Slytherin's face as he silently confessed, "It's me slaughtering them."

"Great, just what we needed: a stark-raving psychopath." Ron exclaimed all the while keeping a weary eye on Blaise.

"Ha.Ha.Ha." he returned "I am amused."

The rustling of robes announced the Head of Hogwart's arrival "Good morning," Dumbledore greeted cheerily, "How are we all feeling today?" the youngsters exchanged a look before all muttering different responses.

"Sir, what about our Christmas? Neither of us has received presents." Ron asked hopefully, he'd been burning to question someone about this highly disturbing matter.

"Ah yes." Dumbledore said with a faintly amused smile, "I am the one who's to blame for that. I found it wiser that all of you passed your recovery without too much excitement. But-", he continued as Ron summoned an enormous pout on his face. "-after contacting your parents after previous night's events, she insisted on having you home to spend the rest of the week and celebrating Christmas."

Ron grinned openly.

"And," The ancient wizard went on, "She's also asked whether Miss Granger and Mr.Potter were interested to spend the remainder of their holiday there as well."

Smiling brightly, Hermione carefully took hold of Ron's warm hand. Harry wanted to open his mouth to accept, but snapped his jaw shut with a click as Draco shifted next to him.

"I can't." he said dully.

Ron's eyebrows shot up, "Why not?" he exclaimed.

"I can't leave Draco."

This drew an overly irritated look from his best friend, "Oh c'mon Harry, don't be going all emotional now!"

"Ron." Harry interrupted warningly "I can't! And he can't either."

"What?" the redhead exclaimed, confused, "Will you please just tell us what you're talking about?"

Draco was watching the display with amusement and leaned back into the pillows comfortably, "He's saying that he and I are bound to each other. Nasty after-effect from magic he pulled off as he healed me."

Ron's heart sank, "How long?"

"About two weeks." The raven-head muttered in disappointment. He really wanted to go.

"Speaking of which, naturally, I informed Molly of your –unusual- situation." Dumbledore said calmly, smiling at Harry, "And she might not have been too eager about it, but she did agree to host Mr. Malfoy there as well, seeing as it is only for four more days."

"Him?" Ron spluttered.

"Me?" Draco uttered.

"No way!" they both exclaimed.

Draco sneered, "Me and Weasel? Ha, not in this life."

"Like I'd ever let you set one foot in our house." Ron spat back.

"That is what your mother said, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore said firmly, "She found it necessary for Harry to rest and feel comfortable after what had happened."

Ron seemed completely against it and was still shaking his head in dismay.

"It's your call, Ron." Harry told him silently.

The redhead fell completely silent and was torn between into agreeing for his friend's sake or refusing. His blue eyes settled on Harry's neutral but earnest face, yet he saw in those green eyes that Harry really wanted to go. He let out a sigh in exasperation and covered his face with a hand "Alright."

The Gryffindor tried to keep tone steady, "What about you?" Harry asked Draco; voice giving away nothing.

Draco was about to reply something among the lines of 'over my dead body' when Alex interrupted that thought before he could vocalize it _Drake, look at him, he really wants to go_

_But this is Weasley! _he requited as if that was a good enough of an excuse.

_I think you're just scared to find out you might enjoy it there _Alex answered paradoxically_. Besides Ron was there to save your sorry ass when it came down to it._

Draco gave her vilest glare he could muster, not believing that she was actually talking him into this. Her green eyes conveyed a hopeful plea and the stray realization crossed his mind that Alex psychologically and spiritually as much human as they were, even if her body was not. "Fine." He snapped grudgingly.

Harry stifled a smile at the complete contempt in Draco's voice, not able to hide the abhor he still nourished against the Weasley's, after all he still was Draco Malfoy. "Thanks." He said with a smile and rested a hand in the nape of Draco's neck, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the soft skin there.

Absently Draco sighed something under his breath and shot Ron one last dark look.

"What about us?" Finbar queried as he glided of his bed, only to sit next to Blaise who'd taken up the end of Alex' foot end.

The two remaining Slytherins nodded.

"I kinda want to know what the homebase sends me." Finbar said, "As I haven't seen them in four months…" he plucked his goatee, trying to shake off the faint sensation of homesickness.

"Same here." Blaise agreed.

Dumbledore gave them a warm smile, "How does tomorrow morning sound to you?"

The two of them nodded, save for Alex, "Do I still have to stay here?" was her main concern, and without Draco or Harry she was doomed to stay their alone, prattling in her boredom.

"Well, seeing as I've convinced Poppy to let Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter leave, it would only be fair enough that you were allowed to do so as well."

"Okay, works for me." She said with a lopsided grin.

Smiling broadly, the Headmaster clapped his hands "Well then, you two better get packed then, as they'll be here to collect you at 2 in the afternoon."

Not completely able to press back a groan, Draco crawled over to Harry's side so they could get out together. He angrily ignored the gasps as his chest was exposed for all to see now. The Gryffindor plucked his cloak up, draped over a nearby chair and swung it around their shoulders. But then Draco froze "What did I have on me when you found me?"

The smile cracked down, and was replaced by a much graver one, "Only your clothes, which were torn, and that necklace." Dumbledore said calmly.

Draco's hand grasped the birthstone hanging from his neck, surprisingly still intact. He swallowed as a nauseating panic crept through his skin, "My wand."

"Was not found." Snape said, speaking for the first time even though he'd been standing there all along.

He clenched his teeth, "What am I supposed to do now?"

Clumsily Harry ran his hand up and down Draco's back, trying to make him feel better, as he understood what it meant for the Slytherin.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore said truthfully and put a hand on his shoulder. Draco did not even try to shrug it off, everything what had ensued two nights ago ever so painfully real in his mind. He had nothing left, no family, no home, no wand, no nothing. Draco suddenly came to the realization that the foundations of his old life had been completely ripped away. It was an insecure feeling and he hated to feel insecure.

---

God, can you believe I was simply trembling when I updated this chap? I am so nervous, and very afraid to find out what you guys think of it… If it weren't for the wonderful comment I got from my beta Keiko-keket, I probably wouldn't have dared to put this one online.

Please, I really beg of you, review. Realize that it are your reviews that keep me going. The more reviews, the faster I update since it boosts my moral. I know it sounds pathetic, but it's the truth; I live of your reviews to keep me motivated for this story.

Further more I really want to express my gratitude to Ash Knight, who has been so incredibly friendly to review my first 3 re-edited chapters. If it weren't for the time Ash Knight had taken for those reviews and the time to reply my e-mail, I probably would have gone crazy with uncertainty. So therefore, thank you very much, you really don't know how much this means to me.

Once again, the 3 first chapters have been re-written, I would still appreciate any reviews left on those chapters. ReallyReally, it means a lot to me. I will keep revising the story here and there.

And I stress: if any of you have a suggestion or advice on something about the story or an event in it, now is the time to tell me! Of course no dramatic changes will be made, but little things like 'What about Hagrid's classes?' and things like that can be added.


	19. Merry Belated Christmas

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ****Wihstrum**

_But did you know,  
That when it snows,  
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen._

_Seal – kiss from a rose_

**Chapter Nineteen: Merry Belated Christmas. **

**Part One.**

Draco's hot chocolate was in an absolutely huge mug and red-green-white colored marshmallows floated all over the top of it. Grudgingly he squinted through the sweet smelling heat curling up from it, and Draco had to admit he'd never felt any more miserable than he felt now. The simple act of packing some of his belongings and the journey to The Burrow had left him completely drained of the little energy he'd managed to gather during his short repose in the ward. From the moment he'd entered the Weasley domain he'd been treated politely, but the tension was so thick that it was almost vibrating through the atmosphere. Mrs. Weasley for one; had been very nice to him, and rather curious. It had been the reaction from the rest of the red-haired family that was distinctly different; some were expectant, others were stony and reserved, and in the twins' case, rather hostile even though not verbally. Draco hadn't been very surprised by this fact though, even more he'd seen it coming, but that didn't make the confrontation any less sour and strained. And what didn't help at all was that he knew that he deserved it, after all he'd made it his life's goal to bitter the Weasleys' life.

Naïve he'd been. So naïve… For they had much more than he'd ever had. And he had only realized that when he lost all what he'd once valued. How empty and naïve.

They were all sitting around the scrubbed wooden table, Draco doing his absolute best not to confront one of the Weasleys with his gaze. So instead he found himself glaring at his mug, sipping it ever so carefully, and the only thing that made him feel better, were his fingers entwined with Harry's under the table, even though it might have counted for the bond. And the mental embrace Alex warmly held him in ever since he'd walked through the front gate.  
Around him was amiable chatter, sometimes interrupted by Mrs. Weasley's fussing over Ron's temperature which had not subsided, even more so, it had probably increased a few more degrees. The warmth that came with Christmas was there even with his presence, and even though most of the Weasley children had ignored him. Their company now existed of Ron, Ginny, the twins, Mrs. and Mr. Weasley, Harry, Hermione and himself. He'd picked something up that a certain 'Bill' and 'Charlie' would be arriving in about half an hour or so. To his other side was Granger and probably the only one who took a quick glance at him whenever she thought he didn't notice, but what unsettled Draco the most was that it were concerned ones. And that, in turn, made him feel even guiltier.

"Is there something you'd like, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco's head shot upwards with a jerk, turning to the person who'd addressed him. Mrs. Weasley was smiling encouragingly at him, unsettling him even more so.

He shook his head, and replied politely, "No thank you. I'm fine." He was just about to gaze back into his cup, wishing he could just bathe in the warm liquid drink, that he suddenly corrected, "Or maybe… if it's possible, I'd like to have a shower." He asked, idea prompted by the warm cocoa.

The Gryffindor found himself nodding eagerly at that. A shower would be wonderful right now, after all it had been a few days since he had one, being bed ridden "Yeah, me too."

The sudden silence that crashed over the table was vaguely alarming; he'd said something wrong. Harry blinked nervously, trying to figure out what exactly he'd mentioned that had been so offending. All eyes were fixed on him, most of them disapproving, or shocked, or like Hermione's bemused one. There was only one pair of eyes that did not held anything negative; Draco was raising his eyebrows somewhat amused and there was an upwards curl in the right corner of his mouth.

And then Harry was belatedly struck with the realization that Draco... would have to _join_ him in the shower. Naked. Together. It was a shock that struck him in the stomach like a physical blow, and he swallowed audibly.

Draco treated Harry to a quick grin, and the oh-so-familiar raised eyebrow, causing the Gryffindor to lower his head, tying to hide his red tinged cheeks.

"I can't allow that," Mrs. Weasley said, tone wavering a bit. It was not that she was against the idea of Harry and Draco, but showering together at such a young age was just something that clashed horribly with her motherly values.

But no one had counted on the ever-so-practical and reasonable Hermione to pick up on that, "I don't want to question the ethic incorrectness of the situation, but their physical health is rather important seeing their current situation." Hermione slightly hesitated, having Draco genuinely bewildered gaze on her and Molly's shocked one, "They will be bound for at least another week, so this will have to happen, one way or another."

Mrs. Weasley promptly opened her mouth to protest at that, but found her lips opening and closing soundlessly, not knowing any objection to that. She turned to look at a still very flustered Harry who seemed very fascinated with some breadcrumb, and a Draco Malfoy, raising his pale eyebrows at Hermione, with an amused smirk around his lips. "O-okay then," Molly ground out hesitantly, "But I want the two back down here in half an hour." She continued more fervently and really now, how much could they do in half an hour?

Draco rose himself with flourish, really not bothering to hold back the slightly disturbing grin, "Well then, now that's settled, c'mon Harry." He hauled Harry up to his feet by his hand, and tugged him into the direction of the bathroom.

A flare of embarrassed panic washed over the Gryffindor and he mouthed a 'help me' in Ron's direction. The redhead, though, was mutely gaping at Harry as if he were going to meet a violent and agonizing death. He turned to Hermione instead, but his friend seemed to doubt herself now whether this had been such a good idea. When no one came to his aid, he hung his head in defeat, and followed woodenly after Draco, who seemed in a much better mood than he'd been all day.

So that's why both young men found themselves struggling and swearing under their breath as they tried to get off their clothes. Dressing or undressing together in tandem, while holding on to each other, proved to be a rather complicated event.

"Would you just stand still?" Harry breathed as he tried to shinny his way out of his jeans, which was not exactly as easy as it sounded, since he had to be touching Draco one way or another.

Draco's voice was partly muffled, seeing as he was still stuck with his sweater halfway over his head, arms in the air, and face covered by the ticklish wool. He tried again –and Harry couldn't decipher anything apart from 'stuck'- and then he sneezed.

With a roll of his eyes, and his jeans still knotted up around his thighs, Harry tried to free Draco from his uncomfortable situation. The progress involved a lot of 'ow', 'aw', 'damn Gryffindor' and 'watch the hair', before Harry actually managed to pull the sweater over Draco's head.

Blonde hair stood up in a fluffy fashion, and Draco's cheeks were tinged pink from frustration. He blinked at Harry, and then abruptly sneezed again.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled sarcastically as he wiped his face with the back of his hand.

The Slytherin shot him a snarkish smirk, before starting to unbuckle his belt, causing Harry to blush and turn his back to him as much as possible without being forced to let go.

At long last, both of them were rid of their clothes, and Harry was seriously debating whether it would be manageable to shower with his eyes closed. It was not that he did not want to look at Draco, because he most certainly did, but he was rather embarrassed about his own physique and he could not bear the appraising gaze of Draco's artic eyes. And then there were the joys of teenage hormones, with which –Harry was sure- he could not deal and most certainly not now, with everything out in the open for Draco to see.

Draco cleared his throat meaningfully, at which the Gryffindor slowly crooked open one eye. Forcing his eyes to remain focused on the latter's face, Harry noticed with no small amount of frustration that the blonde was not effectively holding back an amused grin.

"My, my, Potter," he said with a shake of his head, eyes shamelessly drinking in the sight of Harry's body, "Haven't we grown up?"

Gritting his teeth, and with burning cheeks he dragged Draco (whom was laughing openly over the other's discomfort) behind him and stepped into the shower. He fumbled a little with the tap, trying to decide on the right temperature.

Meanwhile –and completely oblivious to Harry- Draco was openly enjoying the view of the Gryffindor's backside, provided by the slightly bend-over position… until he received a mental swat over the head. _Would you just please try to block me out, or at least warn me? I did not need to see Harry's ass, thank you very much._

_Must admit it's a nice ass. _He stated matter-of-factly, causing Alex to grumble indignantly before pulling up her barriers full-force. He smiled inwardly; plaguing people with discomfort had always been one of his number one hobbies and it made his day considerably better.

The spray switched on, a pleasantly warm water started to cascade over the both of them, "Temperature good?" Harry asked, blinking the water out of his eyes.

Draco nodded, switched his hand from Harry's own to his shoulder and tried to find a sponge and soap. Soon enough he was covered in foam and Draco let out a long-drawn sigh as the tension was drained from his body.

Briefly forgotten, Harry stood there shifting on his place, waiting for the sponge and soap, with nothing to do, but to watch Draco. The Slytherin was undeniably attractive; not in an effeminate way, nor even in an overly masculine and chiseled way, but in a wholesome, glowingly handsome sort of way. He was built as every effective Seeker was; sleek muscles stretched over a lithe frame and was graceful enough to have the complete control over his body that Harry sometimes didn't have... which made Harry very aware and self-conscious of his own body that could not even hope to compete with the easy beauty of Draco's.

With a contented sigh, Draco stretched his hands above his head, before dropping his arms back to his sides, a move that made Harry's heart beat even faster. He put his own arms behind his back to keep himself from doing anything embarrassing, while letting his shin maintain contact with Draco's lower leg.

After a while Draco handed Harry the soap and the sponge, rolling his eyes when the raven-haired boy immediately started to blush again, eyes dropping down and not quite daring to look at him. While he quickly started to sponge himself in with soap, Harry fervently wished that Draco would stop staring, or that he'd at least be able to kick him without the pain backfiring on himself.

Revising his formerly negative opinion about being bound together, Draco regarded the Gryffindor curiously, feeling suddenly rather detached from the situation. Why was it that the other kept turning away from him, and those blushes? He watched how Harry hastily covered himself in soap, never really leaving Draco out of his sight, but all the same never looking at him. He didn't understand why the stupid Gryffindor was so ashamed, because really, Harry was definitely one of those people who were just meant to wander around all day without garments, because covering up a body like that was practically sinful.

"By the way," Draco said casually, "Nice ass, Mr. Potter." He thoroughly enjoyed how Harry blushed hard enough to make Weasel jealous and he couldn't suppress a gleeful smirk as his companion almost literally lunged for the towel hanging from a hook.

Scrambling out of the shower not so elegantly, trying to wrap a towel around his waist and yet not letting go of Draco's wrist, Harry furiously cursed his tendency to blush over such a remark. And seeing how the glare directed at the blonde came out more like a pout, did NOT help the already embarrassing situation at all.  
He watched the Slytherin stepping out of the shower almost lazily, obviously very pleased with himself, and searching the clothing-littered floor for his boxers. He bent down, and Harry was treated to the exquisite sight of the lean muscles and flawless fair skin of his entire, glistering-wet, naked backside.

Grabbing the opportunity to get back at Draco with both hands, he purred in a perfect imitation of the blonde's previous comment, "Hmmm, well thanks Malfoy, nice view."

Gray eyes flew wide in surprise and he whirled around, forgetting that he hadn't pulled his boxers up all the way. He got tangled, and met the floor with a loud smack, yanking Harry partially with him, even though the Gryffindor remained on two feet.

Harry bit his lower lip to suppress his laughter, as he looked down on a very flustered Draco Malfoy staring disbelievingly up at him.

"Not a word," He threatened, struggling helplessly to get upright.

This of course caused Harry to sputter out in snickers, before bursting out in howling laughter, holding gracelessly his hazardly low-hanging towel with his free hand.

Ten minutes later it was Harry dragging a suspiciously blushing Draco Malfoy down the stairs and back into a lovely smelling kitchen, at which the Weasley household narrowed their eyes suspiciously.

"I am so going to get you back for that," Draco breathed between gritted teeth as they moved into the living room, "Mark my words."

The living room was absolutely crowded, especially as Bill and Charlie had arrived while the both of them had been in the shower. A bright red flame danced and crackled warmly in the huge fireplace, casting a restful red glow over the place. Outside it was snowing; thick flakes ambling through the biting cold outside, covering the glowing landscape around the burrow in a thick white duvet. Most of the assembly were nurturing a huge mug of hot cocoa or a small glass of Elderflower wine, chatting good-naturedly. Yet there was a pregnant pause as Draco and Harry made their way over to the mattress lying closely against to wall near the fireplace, where the both of them would also be sleeping during their stay, due to lack of space.

To Draco's complete frustration and dismay, Harry stopped in the middle of the living room to greet both Bill and Charlie, huddled together in a two-seat.

"Hiya Harry," Charlie greeted as he shook Harry's hand warmly, "Seems like the universe hasn't run out of surprises for you yet."

Grinning, Harry elbowed Draco non-too subtly as Charlie also extended his hand to shake his. Genuinely taken aback the Slytherin accepted, even though both twins narrowed their eyes, "Nice to meet you sir." He greeted politely. His lessons in etiquette at which his mother had insisted when he was younger, proved to be a real life saver in situations like these.

Charlie made a dismissive hand gesture, "Sir he says!" he shook his head, "Please, call me Charlie."

Draco nodded, more serious than needed, "Alright, Charlie."

"And this is Bill," Harry informed Draco as he shook the eldest Weasley son's hand.

Bill cocked his head sideward and observed Draco from under lowered eyelids, gazing at him calculatingly, "Draco Malfoy," he said while he shook the Slytherin's hand, "Your Lucius' son aren't you?"

It wasn't a reproach, just a simple statement, but Draco straightened his back and said, "I am no longer his son," he said with a chill of ice in his voice, "I have no father. The man that I knew as my father died during the night of Christmas."

The sharp edge in his voice as he spoke made the hairs in Harry's neck rise and he unconsciously tightened his hold on Draco's left hand protectively.

Nodding slowly, the redhead replied, "Call me Bill." And then he smiled.

Glad that the awkward moment was over, Harry hurried over to sit down on the mattress, accepting another hot chocolate for both him and Draco as he passed Mrs. Weasley. Casting a look outside, he guessed it was about seven o' clock, since the white flecks of crystallized rain contrasted heavily against the dark skies. He and Draco sat in silence, observing how the red-haired family interacted with one other and how the girls helped Mrs. Weasley producing incredible amounts of food and other snacks from the kitchen. After two days of living only on chocolate, Harry's stomach growled in anticipation. With another glace from the corner of his eyes, he confirmed that Draco was probably deep in thought or having a telepathic conversation with Alex. He suspected the first, since the previously stoic expression on Draco's face was now bordering on inner pain as he took in the meaning of family, after losing his own so recently. Silently the boy-who-lived wondered which was worse; losing your parents at birth, dying as they tried to protect you or being abandoned for refusing to serve a heartless madman, trying to murder you while doing so. And now he was forced to watch how the people whom he had looked down on his whole life long, sharing what he now longed for most.

He pulled at the tightly tucked comforter, and wrapped it warmly around both their shoulders, hoping that Draco would not be too proud to accept his comfort, "You okay?" he murmured cautiously.

The distant look in his eyes vanished slowly, as if he came from far away, "Don't worry," he replied, "I was just thinking."

"About?" the Gryffindor tried, hoping to prompt him into talking about it.

Draco leaned back on both his elbows, watching how the table in their midst was almost bending under the sheer amount of the weight of the dishes Hermione and Ginny had gathered there. Just as Harry thought was not going to reply, he started "I know it sounds absurd, but maybe, just maybe, if I survive," He paused his sentence, surprised at Harry's cringe, "I might be able to clear my name." He turned his head to look at Harry, waiting for his reaction.

Green eyes looked at him silently, waiting for him to go on.

He scratched his neck, feeling slightly uncomfortable "You know, rejuvenate the family business, and restore the Malfoy name."

A short silence.

Harry nodded, "I'll help."

Realizing how ridiculous that sounded, he braced himself for Draco's scathing remark, but all the blonde said was, "Thanks."

They lapsed back into silence, but now a comfortable one. Meanwhile several other tables had joined the first, in need for more surface to load the numerous dishes, trays and plates on. When Ginny put the last dish down (roasted chicken) and sat down in-between Hermione and Fred, Ron decided to make everybody aware of the most important –not to mention most horribly delayed- event, "Can we do the presents now?" he complained with a sullen whine.

Molly put her hand on her hips, giving him a warning look, but Ron was immediately backed up by the twins, "Yeah mum, you forced all of us to wait with the presents until they were here!"

With a motherly sigh, but not able to conceal her smile, Molly gave in, "Oh, alright!" she said, throwing her hands in the air as a sign of surrender.

The stack of presents was absolutely huge what with there being ten people in the Burrow with several gifts for each person. Harry sadly concluded that there would be none for Draco, after all barely two weeks ago he'd declared anyone who would have said that Draco Malfoy would be staying over at the burrow ready for St. Mungo's.  
Surprisingly however, the blonde was currently caught up in a conversation with Bill about Gringotts and the slow recovery of the Wizarding Bank after the assault of the Death Eaters and the Comars(1).

As he handed his first present over to Ron (which contained a pocket knife similar to the one Sirius had once given him in his fourth year), Harry was surprised to receive his first from Charlie. He looked at the freckled face with wide green eyes, until Draco nudged him, "C'mon open it."

He fondled the parcel thoughtfully, trying to guess what was in it. It was flat and hard, rather heavy for its size. Frowning, he carefully removed the wrapping. He shook his head with a grin as he saw his fourteen year old self sweeping through the air on his Firebolt, trying to obtain the Golden Egg on the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament.

"Ah yes," Draco said with a roll of his eyes, "Always the hero." He ducked the ball of paper Harry aimed at him, "Not to mention mentally deranged hero." He added as afterthought as he saw the Hungarian Horntail swing her deadly spiked tail at photo-Harry, but he couldn't completely hold back an impish grin.

"Thanks Charlie," Harry said, holding the frame with the magical picture.

His next one was slightly smaller, wrapped in a tidy bright red paper with a golden bow. It was Hermione and Ron's present. After prying the tight wrapping from the little box, Harry was pleasantly overwhelmed; they'd given him a new watch. He thanked them, slightly unsettled because it was rather expensive.

Next was the present from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, a big, soft and squishy present, and Harry had no doubt what it was going to be. Upon opening that suspicion was confirmed; a warm woolen, deep red colored sweater with a golden 'H' on it. He pulled his own sweater over the head, and slipped the official Weasley jumper on instead.

That was the first time during the presents exchange that Draco withdrew in himself again, quietly chewing on a large chuck of chocolate cake, observing the whole scene in a detached manner.

One of his last ones was without doubt the most special one: It was a rather large box, and under the paper the lid read: _Open with care, contents fragile_. And an envelope was taped upon it as well. Curiously he opened it, and pulled a small piece of parchment out which said:

_Dear Harry,_

_We hope you will like our present, it was rather hard to find another one, seeing as they're so awfully rare. I trust you know how to use it…_

_Sincerely,_

_Remus__ J. Lupin & Finbar S. Ganad_

His dark eyebrows rose at that, and in the meantime Ron settled next to him, but not without a weary look in Draco's direction. "What'd ya got there mate?" he asked.

Genuinely curious now, he opened the lid and reached inside. From the moment his fingertips made contact with the smooth surface, shaped as a bowl, he knew what it was. He pulled it out for everyone to see.

"A Pensive!" Arthur said in awe, coming closer to take a look.

Open mouthed Harry stared at the precious gift he'd just received and even Draco was observing it with great interest as well.

"Those werewolves…" Ron snickered as he read the note.

Hermione smiled warmly, "Well, that's quite a valuable gift you've received, Harry," she said as the pensive was passed on to her, "Imagine what you could learn from this."

Feeling absolutely lonely now, even though he might have been surrounded by so many people, Draco welcomed the supportive hand Harry rested in his neck, winding the soft locks of his hair between his fingers. And just before he could let out a misery filled sigh, and owl tapped on the window.

"Really now, a letter this late?" Molly pondered, walking over to open the window.

A large barn owl, one of those you found in the Owlery on Hogwarts, hopped in and Harry immediately smiled as the large bird gracefully swooped over to land in front of Draco. Molly, in meanwhile, was about to shut the window when a second bird dove through it, closely followed by a third one and also the last one. The second bird was not an owl; instead it was a large black raven, which landed on Draco's shoulder. The third one was an owl again; cooing regally as it settled on Draco's other shoulder.

"Well," Hermione said with a soft smile, "Seems like there are people out there who really care for you, no matter what decisions you make in your life."

Harry smiled gratefully at his fellow housemate and best friend, ever so impressed with her ability to say the right things on the right moment, even if it was directed at someone who'd treated her so lowly.

Swallowing convulsively and feeling absurdly nervous all of a sudden, Draco untied the packages strapped on the each of the birds' legs. As he was busy releasing the package from the raven, he whispered hoarsely, "This is Blaise's raven, Aasento."

It was a very tiny package, which Draco could hold in the palm of his hand, with a simple green wrapper. The Slytherin just sat there, staring at it, realizing that the three presents he had received, were from three people whom he could truly call friends. Almost trembling, he removed the wrapper. Out of it tumbled a shiny sliver object, and Draco caught it, noticing how he could curl his whole hand around it. He flattened his hand, and there, in his palm, lay a very small, silver dragon. It was curled up and appeared to be sleeping.

Meanwhile Ginny had picked up a letter that had been nearly crumpled up and thrown away with the wrapper, "Want me to read it?" she asked tentatively.

Draco directed his piercing gray eyes at her, momentarily startling her, before he nodded.

A surprised smile flashed over her face before she began to read:

_Draco_

_I know we agreed not to do this mushy Christmas stuff, but I stumbled upon it on my last visit in Hogsmeade and believe it or not, it kind of reminded me of you (don't know whether that's a compliment). Anyway, this is not just a little trinket, it has been charmed. It can animate and perform little tasks. Awaken the dragon by gently touching its head with your wand (and I do mean gently, because trust me; you don't want to piss him off. The little bugger has sharp teeth, I found out.) and say '__evigilo__'. Just tell him your command, politely mind you, and it should obey. To get him back to sleep touch its head once again with your wand and say 'dormio'.  
It also has a name; Drake (can you tell this was Alex's startling original idea?). _

_So that was it. I hope you'll like it._

_Blaise__ N. Zabini._

Draco stared at the softly snoring dragon in his hand, a barely visible smile playing across his lips, "I don't know what to say."

"What about thank you?" Hermione offered jokingly.

"Obviously," he retorted with a roll of his eyes, "Remind me when we get back…"

"That's great and all," Ron said as he offered the raven, Aasento, some cake, "But you don't have a wand." He pointed out.

"Yes Ronald, thank you," Hermione muttered aggravated, "Tactful as ever."

Draco carefully slipped the dragon in the pocket of his sweater, "He does have a point," he admitted, even though he did shot an irritated glance at the redhead. Then he turned to the next present, even smaller than Blaise's and instead of being wrapped in paper, it was a small, silk pouch. He pulled the cords loose and turned it over in his hand. This time he was holding a delicate silver ring. Raising it to eye height he observed it closely; it were two entwined snakes, twisting around each other in a perfect circle, until both the heads met each other again; each one viciously clutching hold of a small, blood red Ruby.

"There's no note," he noticed as he checked the silken pouch again.

Bill leaned over, "Could I have a look at that?" he asked, eyes wide in fascination.

Without second thought, seeing as the redhead had been particularly nice to him tonight, Draco handed him the ring. In anticipating silence they watched how Bill skillfully twirled the ring through his fingers, ever so often touching it with his wand and uttering a hard to pronounce spell, submitting the enigmatic object to his trained eye. It lasted for about ten minutes, before Bill returned the ring, "It's not cursed, but that's one impressive work of craftsmanship."

He slipped the sliver bond over his ring finger, but found it was much too big. So instead Draco slipped it around his left thumb. He frowned at it thoughtfully, running several names through his head from people who would want to give him such a personal object. He put the matter a side for later, since he had one more present to go. As he freed the barn owl from her burden, he noticed it was not one present, but two.

"This one's for you," Draco said eventually, and he gave the present to Harry, "It's from Alex."

For the first time this evening, the Gryffindor realized that he hadn't come across one of Alex's, even though both Ron and Hermione had received one. He weighted it in his hand, as he ran his fingers over the odd form, trying to figure what it could be.

"Open up!" Ron interrupted cheekily.

Harry grinned broadly at his best friend, and then he hastily removed the wrapper. Unfortunately for him…

"Shit," he cursed shamelessly, quickly withdrawing his hand as the object cut him. He sucked on the wound, it was not deep, but it did sting viciously. Picking up the black cord peeking from under the remains of wrapper, Harry gasped in surprise as he recognized it on sight, "Oh God," He breathed softly, running his fingers carefully over the slightly bend object, "Alex's Jaw."

"Huh?" came the mutual response from most of the Weasleys.

Almost worshippingly he traced the unusually large jaw, "Well, remember that one night. When she and I faced Vol-"

The Weasleys hissed.

"-Sorry," he apologized quickly, "When we faced you-know-who, it was the first time she changed into a tiger. Yes she's an animagus," he added quickly for most of the shocked Weasleys, "Anyway, when she fought those Comars, she received a heavy head wound. As she turned human again, she was missing a tooth. Although one grew back, the one she lost in her animagus form remained that of a tiger." He explained and then, very cautious, he slipped the black cord around his neck, the jaw resting in the middle of his chest.

Hermione sat down before him on her knees, "That's dangerous to sleep with Harry, you could get hurt. Allow me," she waited for his affirmative, and when she received a nod she spoke with a graceful swish of her wand, "_Demulceo_"

Testingly touching the needle-sharp tip, no harm was done, even when he wrapped his whole hand around it tightly, "Thanks Hermione!"

His friend smiled warmly, before taking up her place next to Ron, still sitting next to Harry on the mattress.

"C'mon Malfoy," Ron urged, "It's not going to unwrap itself."

Draco directed a withering glare at him, which he saved especially for Ron, before disposing the rectangular box from its wrapper. Why had Alex given him another present? She'd already given him the Zodiac-stone. A tight feeling knotted his chest as understanding dawned. He tipped the tender lid of the small box, and his hunch was confirmed. No longer able to stop his hand from trembling, he took out the note that was seated on top of the wand.

_Dear Draco,_

_Consider this a last minute present. Let me explain: when you were packing, I asked Finbar whether he could check your aura right before you left. You probably didn't know, but Finbar is gifted with the Auric Sight. Either way, this wand is, or now was, mine. I was never meant to wield a wand, seeing as I myself basically already function as one. I, too, am a core in a vessel. Even so, I suspected that chances might be, due to our identical genetic structure, that this one could be right for you. Finbar __compared your magical compatibility with that of the wand. He suspected that it had 85 of succeeding.  
It is made from acacia, 12", pliable. The core is made of the rare feather of the wing from a Pegasus stallion. And then I do not mean a winged horse; no, a real Pegasus: a pure white stallion, which can only be caught with a golden bridle._

_I hope you will have more use for it than I had._

_Love, Alex. _

With high hopes, he took the wand out of its case. A strong surge of magic power rushed through his body, as the wand accepted Draco as its master. The wind stirred; and circled around the young wizard, whom was briefly glowing. He could literally feel the magic creep through his skin - it was so much more powerful than his previous one, from which the core had been made out of ivory.

"That was very perceptive of her," Hermione spoke silently, breaking the trembling silence.

"That little brat," Draco murmured affectionately, as he reached back into the pocket of his sweater, fingers easily finding the cool silver dragon. Pointing the tip of the wand carefully –as Blaise had instructed- to the head of the dragon he spoke clearly, "_Evigilo_"

Tiny silver eyelids slid open, revealing two amber eyes, and the dragon stretched in a very catlike fashion, yawning gracelessly.

"Reminds me of Pig," Ron remarked jokingly.

Slate gray eyes narrowed at the redhead, and he was ready to give 'Drake' his first command, "We're not going to let Weasel insult you, now won't we," he said with feigned sweetness, followed by a particularly wicked grin "Attack!"

Immediately Ron ducked behind Harry, in effort of protecting himself, which wasn't really necessary, since the dragon was eying Draco in an arrogant way, obviously not impressed and wagging its tail tauntingly.

"Now we know why it reminded Blaise so much of you," Harry pointed out dryly.

"Traitor," he retorted, but even as he tried to hide it, everyone could see Draco was delighted, "Alright then…" he directed himself back to the dragon, "_Please_, attack?"

This time, Ron let out a disturbingly feminine sounding 'meep', as Drake obeyed the command, spreading its wings and darting of Draco's hand, hunting after its prey.

"AAAH!" Ron screeched, "The little bugger has –AAAAH!- sharp gnashers." He whirled his arms around him trying to bat his unusual foe away, "Get him –AAAH!- off!"

The blonde nodded appreciatively, "I like him."

Not able to suppress a snicker at the scene, Harry briefly caught a glimpse of the twins' identical grin at slate eyed youth's remark. Silently he thanked both Blaise and Alex, as well as the stranger, since they had made Draco's visit worth the trouble.

Meanwhile the Slytherin had summoned his silver dragon back to him, which was now proudly parading on Draco's knee, openly pleased with itself, while Ron rubbed his backside with a pained expression on his face.

Moaning contently, Draco huddled away in the thick fluffy pillows and he stretched his long legs out in front of him, crossing them. He was sitting upright against the wall, leaning into the numerous pillows they'd gathered there. Even though he was rather drowsy and very calm at the moment, his heart was beating strangely fast. Something deep inside of him had clicked into silent acceptance of whatever it seemed faith had in store for him. He could never forget the foul betrayal from his father; the proof that the only certainty one had was unpredictability, a lesson that had literally scarred him for life. But he had survived, the recollection of events burned into his soul. He had been saved by six other people, from whom he barely knew three:

Alex, even though she was able get on his nerves like no other –save for Weasel- could, he honestly dared to admit that he cared for her deeply. Maybe even love, but he'd rather bite his tongue than having to say that out loud. How she'd changed him, never intimidated by him and doing everything to irritate him, and even so, she'd won her own rightful place next to him. From then on he'd felt as if he'd been part of something. A true friend.

Then Blaise, his housemate for all those years, right there next to him, all the time. And only now he was starting to learn something about this enigmatic, smooth talking youth. Somehow he'd always been there when he'd needed him, in his own subtle manner, but ever so supportive. And so wise and mature, almost like Granger.

And finally Harry. He, Draco had known longest, the dark-haired boy with big green eyes, he'd seen him all those years ago, in Madam Malikin's Robes for all Occasions. A malnourished, strangely endearing boy in oversized clothing and a nervous smile; imagine the overwhelming shock upon learning he was Harry Potter. And he had just stood there parroting what his father had taught him, absolutely sure he'd made another friend. How intriguing that little boy had been. And Draco? He had been a snobby, condescending little brat, and how angry and humiliated he'd been when Harry had preferred Ron's friendship over his…

As if sensing his thoughts, Harry stirred in his sleep, slurring something ineligible under his breath. 

Okay, so the position in which Harry's head lay was alarmingly arousing, but thankfully enough, Draco's body seemed too sedated with Mrs. Weasley's delicious cooking and the first touches of sleep, that it didn't react immensely disgracingly. Somehow during the period in which Draco had been lost in though, Harry had huddled his way closer to him, resting his head in the blonde's lap. The contrast of the coal-colored hair against the Slytherin's own fair skin was appallingly harsh, yet perfect, as some sort of divine ying-yang. Reluctantly he caressed the Gryffindor's hair, learning that it was thick and heavy, but clean and soft. It reminded him of something expensive and fine.

Harry's rhythmic breathing pattern ceased, but he didn't move from his current position. The Slytherin knew he was awake, but he didn't stop his hand from running through the ever-so-messy dark hair. An uncontrollable shiver ran down his spine as Harry's lips softly brushed the sensitive skin of his lower belly while he murmured, "Draco?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to ask you an incredible mushy question," Harry began sheepishly, and he shifted the angle of his head in Draco's lap so that he could look at him, "when did you first notice that you were…well you know… to me. What made it change?"

Draco rolled his eyes at the carefully avoided words, but he thought about it anyway. From his half-upright position he could just see through the window on the other side of the living room, the snow had turned the landscape around the Burrow a brilliant opaline white, "Remember that night when I returned that ruddy mirror of yours?" he bit his lip as Harry nodded, wishing he would stop the dangerous friction, "Well, just before I left, you grabbed my wrist. If I recall correctly that was the first time you actually touched me without meaning to hurt me, or the other way around."

Contemplating that answer briefly, he nodded, "We've been idiots, haven't we?" Harry said with an amused grin over his lips.

A pale eyebrow was raised and he regarded Harry from under lowered eyelids, "In your case, nothing much has changed then."

Languidly, Harry moved to sit up next to Draco, "You certainly know how to spoil the mood," he pretended to be offended, but a cheeky grin could not be avoided.

"Now Harry," Draco placated huskily, as he leaned over the dark-haired wizard possessively, "If you thought this meant chocolate, flowers and candlelight dinners," he paused meaningfully to catch Harry's earlobe between his teeth, "Then I'm sorry to say you're sadly mistaken. I am just not the sentimental kind"

"Thank God," the Gryffindor barely managed to gasp as the blonde found a particularly sensitive spot in his neck to nibble upon. Harry leaned into the Slytherin's body more, resting his head in the nape of Draco's neck, and vaguely embarrassed because his heart was nearly hammering its way out of his ribcage. Harry lay still and very stiffly, wondering what on earth you were expected to do in such situations. "Who taught you to do this, Parkinson?"

Draco bit down rather hard, before muttering indignantly, "Now that's spoiling the mood," and he stared back down at the glittering eyes of Harry whom was smiling impishly up at him.

"Well, you did escort her to the Yule Ball in fourth grade, didn't you?" Harry continued gleefully, taking obvious joy in making the blonde uncomfortable. Being in charge of the situation wasn't so bad after all. This pillow talk thing was a revelation - Draco could be really entertaining when he relaxed a bit, usually he was rather edgy and combative. "Did you kiss her?"

"Shut up, Potter, just shut up," he shuddered involuntarily at the memory, "It was like kissing a leech." He said with a sour grimace, before casting a reproachful look in Harry's direction, "No wonder I ended up with you."

Taking Draco off guard this time, Harry swiftly wrapped his arms around the blonde's neck, drawing him close until their lips were brushing, "Prat," he whispered softly placing a tentative kiss on the slightly parted lips. Lips he'd always known to be pulled into a cruel sneer, a smug, hateful smirk or an angry scowl. He'd never have believed that lips like those could be so soft, even though they were pressed urgently against his own. Lips that tasted sweet, spicy and essentially Draco.

**Late afternoon, Hogwarts.**

Sauntering lazily through the chilly corridors of the immense magical castle, Finbar shifted the rather large parcel under his arm for a better grip. Here and there a few stray students ran through the corridors, and if they were Gryffindors they'd stop to greet him. Finbar felt strangely at ease at this school, so much more at home than at Durmstrang institute. The homesickness had ceased after reading the letter from home that had came with one of his presents this morning.  
Upon entering the Entrance Hall, he saw Zabini leaning nonchalantly against the wall, shooting dark glares at lower years, scaring them off effectively.

He raised his head as he heard Finbar's approaching footsteps, and pushed himself fluidly off the wall, "You'll have to do with me as your guide, I'm afraid, Alex is still asleep."

The werewolf shrugged, "S'kay,"

Blaise raised an eyebrow at the package under his arm, but decided against commenting on it, and said instead, "Anyways, we'll have to make a short trip to the kitchens, I need to pick up some soup for Alex." not waiting for an affirmative he whirled around in a flurry of expensive robes and strode off.

Rolling his eyes at the antics, the Empath tagged after him.

Twenty minutes later, they stepped into the Slytherin common room, and Finbar felt like stepping into the past, when he attended at Durmstrang. There were very few students left, if it were more than six –Blaise and Alex included- it would have been a lot. He ignored the vengeful glares they directed at the intruding Gryffindor, and concentrated on why Blaise was leading him to the boys dormitory (he still remembered from after spying on Harry and Draco) and not to the girls dormitory.

"Not that it is my business," he spoke up, valiantly trying to suppress a peek of jealousy, "but why is she apparently sleeping in the boy's dorm?"

Blaise looked slyly over his shoulder, arching his eyebrows curiously, "Not jealous now are we?" When he received no answer, he continued more seriously, "Don't worry, she and I are merely friends. But it _is_ my fault that she's sleeping there."

The door opened with a soft screech, and Blaise crossed the room over to the bed where Alex was sleeping in. Carefully putting the steaming bowl on the nightstand he explained, "She woke up in the middle of the night and came up here. Apparently she had heard me screaming."

"Nightmares?" Finbar questioned softly, observing the deep dark bags, as if Blaise had two equally bruised eyes.

The brown haired wizard nodded thoughtfully, "She stayed up all night, even though she needed the sleep more than I did, watching over me."

Finbar regarded the usually stoic expression change into a soft smile before Blaise effectively broke the strangely delicate moment, by prodding Alex rather sharply with his wand.

"Fuck you Blaise," came the grumpy retort, as she wrapped the blanket more tightly around her.

Crossing the small distance from hers to his own bed –which was still littered with wrappers from the presents he'd opened up this morning- Blaise sat down gracefully, "Flattering as that request may be," he drawled smoothly, smirking at Finbar's dark look on that comment, "I don't think your friend here would appreciate that."

A sleep-mussed head poked out from the tangled bed sheets, frowning at the so-said company, and it seemed to take her a while before her mind caught up, "Finbar!" she uttered, scrambling out of bed like a man possessed. Rubbing her eyes, as if trying to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, Alex seemed distinctly uncomfortable, trying to flatten her wild hair nervously.

"Merry Christmas by the way," Blaise said with a wide grin at the display.

Pulling at the hem of Harry's old t-shirt -hoping to cover up her exposed thighs- she gave Blaise a sour glare for not waking her up earlier and sparing her the embarrassing moment. Nevertheless, she walked over and gave him three kisses, "Merry Christmas." Then she spotted the soup and scrunched up her nose, "Again soup? Couldn't you bring me any real food, like pudding or pancakes or something?"

"Your stomach still can't take any solid food, remember," Blaise said tiredly.

Alex shot on last reproaching look at the bowl, before answering, "At least it'll taste good for about thirty seconds…"

Blaise wisely chose to ignore that remark, and due the lack of his response, Alex shrugged and went on, stopping rather awkwardly in front of Finbar as well, "Well," she murmured, pulling more fervently at the hem of the shirt, "Merry Belated Christmas."

To Finbar's eyes it was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen, "Yeah, merry belated Christmas…" he hesitated a moment, than held on tight to his Gryffindor courage and leaned over to kiss her as well. Alex's lips were warm on his cheeks, only a brief touch, but it felt so much more than a chaste, friendly kiss, so much deeper than friends use to exchange kisses. It was over too soon.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower…" she muttered, as red as a beetroot. And then she darted out of the dormitory.

With an arch of his hand, Blaise said, "Feel free to sit wherever you want, Ganad."

The Gryffindor simply took up a spot next to the other, jogging the bed as Blaise was busying himself with casting a warming-spell over Alex's soup, "Can we drop the last-name issue? It's damn well irritating," Finbar scolded in expiration.

A pair of bright brown eyes focused on him studiously, and after a long, ill-fitting stillness, he suddenly outstretched his hand, "Blaise Zabini, nice to meet you,"

"Finbar Ganad, likewise," the werewolf smiled, reaching out to shake the other's hand.

It happened so fast that neither of them had the time to analyze it; the exact moment that their skin touched, a bright silver spark sizzled through the air, connecting their hands. Both young men withdrew their hand immediately, startled and wide-eyed.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Blaise cried, having lost a lot of his cool bravado.

Finbar shook his head, "I didn't do anything!"

Eying one other wearily, they extended their hands again. Exactly the same thing occurred, only this time they weren't fast enough:

"Let go of my hand!" the Slytherin yelped, pulling in vain.

Mirroring the other's efforts of trying to jerk his hand from the tight grasp, he ground out: "What the hell? We're stuck?"

It was if they were glued together as two magnets; a positive and a negative one, pulling at each other through the laws of nature.

"Aw! Stop yanking, you're ripping my skin!" Blaise hissed indignantly; unaware of how ambiguous that sounded.

"Am I'm interrupting something?" Alex said with an immense grin picking up on that thought, as she entered the dorm again while ruffling a towel through her hair, "First Harry and Drake, and now you two…"

"We're stuck!" they yelled in unison, dawning panic evident in their voice.

Knitting her brows, taking in the sight of both house rivals holding hands and yet not able to let go, Alex did, completely unconscious, the most logical thing: she touched both their shoulders. With horrible timing, the young men fiercely pulled one last time, but they were already loose. Finbar toppled over the edge of the bed, and landed with a loud thud on the floor while Blaise jerked so violently backwards that he hit his head against the headboard.

Pushing himself up at one elbow, and rubbing his neck, Finbar muttered, "What the hell happened? My Sight is completely buggered."

Groaning Blaise held his head between both hands, feeling rather miserable, "Why is it that whenever someone gets too close to Gryffindors, things go wrong?"

Alex shrugged at that, sitting down on her bed (which was actually Draco's) and her attention immediately evaporated as she saw a pretty impressive stack of presents at the end of the bed. Enthusiastically grabbing the first one she could reach, she started to unravel.  
Meanwhile, Finbar cautiously got up, and wisely sat down next to her instead, as he and Blaise stared at each other blandly, both attempting to find a justifiable theory about what just had ensued. The Slytherin shook his head incredulously after a while, and gave the werewolf a crooked smile. As Alex had already worked herself halfway through the surprises, the Gryffindor suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place. Keeping a safe distance between him and the other wizard, he carefully picked up the large parcel he'd brought with him.

He nudged her and held out the present, "Here,"

Looking at him crestfallen, Alex took over the rather large, cubical and colorfully wrapped gift with a floppy bow on top of it.

"It's from me, Harry and Ron," Finbar said with a smile, "I couldn't wrap it until this morning neither could I have it delivered the usual way, you'll see why."

With an arched eyebrow at his quizzical explanation, she started to removed the wrapping gently. She gave a gasp in astonishment when she was what was inside; "He's awesome!" came her breathless response, as she opened the cage and watchfully took out the iguana.

The lizard was small enough to sit perched upon her shoulder, yet too big to be carried around in her pocket. It seemed particularly tame, even though it rolled comically with both its eyes, completely independent of each other.

"You'll still have to name it though," Finbar pointed out, content that she liked it.

Nodding slightly, and chuckling as the lizard crawled its way up her arm to her shoulder, she beamed at Finbar, "C'mere you…" and bluntly kissed him full on the lips.

Two spots of color appeared on the dark-haired youth's cheeks, eyes wide-spread in shock.

Alex was again completely absorbed with her fascination in her new pet, that she hadn't even questioned that particular action. She had a grin plastered on her face that Blaise felt sure would take more than just a crowbar to remove.

---

(1) Comars: These are actually shadowborns. The next updates will include a re-edit of chapter 5, as well as several new scenes from which one of them is about Hagrid explaining during his lessons what Shadowborns/Comars _really_ are.

And yes, well seen, this is PART 1! Originally I wanted to add the rest all in one chapter, but seeing as this alone is 16 pages, I figured it would be a little overwhelming to add the rest, so I split it up.

_Part 2 – Bittersweet_ will feature the return of Percy and Fudge's desperate madness, a hint of Lucius' next step and some of the consequences of what happened on Christmas eve (mainly for Blaise and Ron). And something else which I will not give away.

By the way, I'd like to advertise for my third (yes, third!) story: **Inter Sol Solis et Luna  
**This is –like all my stories- an Harry/Draco fic, AND it's a Vampire fic. I can hear you all thinking 'cliché', but hear me out; this one just might be a little different from the others you might have read. SO give it a try and let me know what you think!

I loved your reviews on the previous chapter, they really made me happy! Do you guys know that whenever I'm at home (and that's not a lot) I run to my computer- even if I only have a one minute time window- to check for reviews! Reallyreallyreally, thank you guys sooooo much! They mean a lot to me, even if they're only 5 words long!


	20. Merry Belated Christmas Part 2

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ****Wihstrum**

**Chapter Nineteen: Merry Belated Christmas. **

_Part Two: BitterSweet_

The cheerless cold of the bitter winter hung in thin strips of gray fog over the seemingly dead plains surrounding the Malfoy Manor. The once majestic mansion stood now solitary in the dark night cloaking it, and the once so vibrant green nature encircling it had decayed and withered away, claimed by the shroud of death oozing the atmosphere. The Manor was no longer what it had been; the times of glory long past and forgotten. Only despair and hatred could remain here. All was silent, as dead as the permeating evil aura from the Dark Lord residing in the house.

A long, cloaked figure of black stood unmoving in front of one of the high arched windows, the reflection of the misshapen face reflecting in the clear glass. At the long wooden dinner table, his most loyal Death Eaters gathered. His expression contorted with vexation as his servants shouted heatedly, still arguing over what should be done to bend the course of the war back to their favor.

"We must get rid of Potter at once!" hissed Bellatrix, venom soaked into every word, "Even _if only_ _he_ lies dead in our hands, we have already won."

Nott shook his head irritably, "And how do you propose we do that? That old fool has a small army defending him, we stand no chance."

Bellatrix's upper lip drew up loathingly, "You are such a coward, Nott. Remember that I am watching your every move closely, it suits me nothing that you have not yet let your son –Theodore- be initiated."

"How dare you," he growled and sent his chair skittering backwards as he pushed himself away from the table, standing up in one swift motion, "Theodore told me himself that he is merely too young to be granted the honor of being marked, that he finds himself still unworthy for such a glory!"

"Both Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle have been initiated, so why not your son?" Bellatrix pushed on angrily.

Lucius let his fist fall heavily on the polished surface of the table, "Enough with your senseless quarreling! We must con-"

"Hold your mouth, Lucius!" Bellatrix interjected, glaring at him from under the heavy eyelids, "You have failed our Lord already once. Obviously you have been a complete imbecile if your own treacherous blood is being a whore for none other than Potter himself!"

The gray eyes of the blonde haired man went glacial and before either of the company had caught the movement, Lucius held the tip of his wand at Bellatrix's throat. It was then that the Dark Lord himself lost his patience, and without any audible whisper he had both of them seized in a _Cruciatus_ curse. He entertained himself briefly by watching them spasm and shudder violently on the floor, before having to release them if he did not wanted them to be beyond sanity. Besides they were too useful to already being discarded of. Both their forms shivered and convulsed from the aftershock, and the rest of the assembly was staring shaken at their comrades. "Now, now, my friends," Voldemort shushed mockingly, a parody of a gentle smile crossing his snake-like features, "This is no time for strife. Not when I have thought of a solution for our problem." He glanced disinterestedly at the bent shapes of both Lucius and Bellatrix groveling obediently at his feet.

"What is this plan you have worked out, my Mighty Lord?" Avery ventured quietly.

Voldemort's red eyes lingered on him, long enough to make him flinch, before continuing with a satisfied smirk on his face, "Potter's life is out of our reach for now, so we must turn to the next problem at our hands: the girl." He paused, giving their pathetic little brains the opportunity to take in the information, "It seems that they have not just yet realized how powerful a weapon they are holding, but that will take not long anymore. From the events on Christmas's Eve my worst fears have been confirmed: soon all of them will feel the changes and we must strike now when they are still vulnerable.

"I do not know all of who were involved in the summoning of Draco Malfoy, but I am certain that Potter himself and the girl were involved. Without realizing what she has done the girl has altered their fates and handed them the key to gaining the upper hand. Soon all of them will begin to realize just what the consequences will be, and how they could be able to use them against us. We must annihilate her now –when they are still weak and oblivious to the power she has unknowingly offered them."

The Death Eaters were hanging on his lips, hoping to be involved in their Master's plans, "We could have my son sneak in the castle, my lord, and I strongly doubt that they would have been smart enough to take precautions in case one of them would sneak in at night. He would be able to slip by the wards unnoticed and _Avada__ Kedavra_ the girl while she sleeps." Goyle offered eagerly, wishing to get in his Master's good graces.

"Have you not listened, Death Eater?" Voldemort said with a deadly calm, before pursing his lips as if he were chiding a disobedient child, "I already have a plan." Yet as he spoke with the honey-slick tone, he waved his wand idly, as if his hands were itching to wring the life out of him.

Goyle spluttered to offer his apologies, but Voldemort quieted him with an impatient gesture of his skeletally thin hand, "I will generously offer Lucius a second chance to prove his worth," he turned to the so-said man, pinning the frightened creature under his poisonous glare, "Fudge is a desperate man, Lucius… maybe you should offer him your support. He is losing popularity and is willing to accept every given chance with both his dirtied hands."

Lucius blinked at him non-understandingly, but wisely remained mute, knowing that if he dared to interrupt now, something more permanent than _Cruciatus_ would come his way.

"If you act quickly, and donate generously for his _good cause_. And maybe with some _persuasion,_" The Dark Lord smirked wickedly, "He will grant you the authority to confiscate a certain bothersome weapon of war held in Hogwarts. A weapon forged by blood magic, disguised as an innocent girl, hidden between all those poor, vulnerable students…" he clasped a pale hand over the place where his heart should be, in mock concern, and several Death Eaters snickered dutifully. "Besides, _Avada__ Kedavra_ will not be sufficient to dispatch of her completely."

This time Lucius carefully voiced his question, "But I thought that we had left her unguarded to _Avada__ Kedavra_, in case something went wrong and we would have to exterminate her… as has happened now."

Voldemort nodded, "True, the vessel will not withstand the Killing curse, but the spirit will. That's when we are in trouble; you see, the night that they summoned Draco Malfoy, I suspect the girl possessed Potter. He alone would have been able to heal Malfoy, for the girl has no such abilities strong enough to save him. She does not possess someone like Imperio; no, she abandons her vessel completely and merges her magic spirit –her very core- with that of the other person. If we take away her vessel, there is no doubt that she will seek out Potter's body as her host –thus easily tripling the boy's magic capacity. And that is the very thing we are trying to avoid happening here."

"Then how will we kill her?" Bellatrix asked anxiously.

The Dark Lord licked his thin lips and shook his mutated head, "Not kill, my dear Bellatrix." An ominous glimmer lighted his scarlet eyes, "We will break her." a chilling laugh rolled out of his soulless body into the night air.

**Miles away from Wiltshire and the Malfoy Manor, in Ottery St. Catchpole…**

"Oh c'mon, Malfoy," Harry challenged as bend down, scooping up a handful of snow, patting it quickly into a ball and eying Ron wearily from his shelter behind a large oak, "Don't be such a girl."

Draco –still bonded to Harry through life-force- was holding the Gryffindor's upper arm loosely. Having slept bare-chested with him for the night had boosted their resistance strong enough that just making contact was enough for now. "Shut up, Potter." he sneered, doing his best to look menacingly, "Snowball-fights are such a primitive form of entertainment"

Not having paid much attention to Draco's complaints, Harry sent his snowball sailing straight at Ron, who futilely tried to duck the projectile thrown with Seeker-accuracy.

"I can't believe you Gryffindors," Draco droned on irritably, "Playing around like infants." He threw up his free hand in aggravation and scowled.

"Hey Ferret-face!" Harry's best friend called out from over a distance away.

In a completely instinctive reaction, Draco turned his head, teeth bared and ready to snap a withering remark. "What is it Wea-"

_Splat! _

"Eat that Malfoy!" Ron bellowed, safely out of the Slytherin's range.

With a violent move of his hand he wiped the snow from his face and spit out the half-melted cold water, revealing a face flustered with humiliation, "Why you…you…" grabbing a hand of snow, pressing it together and casting a banishing charm he send it straight at Ron who barely ducked it.

Harry having watched the brief interaction with profound amusement promptly received a shower of snow against the back of his head, and whirling around he was just in time to see Ginny and Hermione duck away behind some barrels, giggling, "Hey!" he shouted indignantly.

The avengement followed instantly and within seconds the snow-covered fields surrounding the Burrow were converted into a battlefield of chaotic white missiles thrown at everything that dared to move. Harry and Draco effectively managed to from a strong team, rivaling against the twins, with Ron, Ginny and Hermione running havoc in between them all. Before any of them was aware of it, there were shrieks of laughter, screaming and snow-wrestling, none of them caring whether they were getting soaked wet.

It was when Draco finally managed to pelt one of the twins, which one was unclear –with their caps they looked even more alike- that he and Harry joined hands in a high-five for victory.

"Nice move there, Malfoy." Harry commented in what he imagined to be an obnoxious way.

The blonde gave him an incredulous look, "Of course, I'm a Slytherin." He glanced furtively around to see where his foes had gone, "One of us has to have style here."

Before Draco managed to locate the twins, he was tackled from behind by no one else than Harry himself, the Gryffindor determined to get him back for the remark. He landed gracelessly into a heap, Harry somewhere on top of him, trying to turn the Slytherin into a snowman in record-time. After a struggle, Draco managed to reverse the positions and was doing a pretty good job of filling Harry's sweater with the icy snow, drawing choked cries from the Gryffindor at the cold contact.

Their companions briefly halted their own warfare to check whether to two of them were really fighting again –like old times. And they were just about to interfere, when Harry rolled them both over and pinned both Draco's hands next to his head into the snow. The blonde let out a startled squeak, causing Harry to grin triumphantly and then –rather clumsily- he bent down and seized Draco's lips. Gray eyes flew open momentarily with bewilderment, until –how they had gotten there he did not remember- Harry's hands were on his face, thumbs stroking his cheekbones softly, reverently.

Particularly Ron let out a strange whimper and turned to look the other way, the twins stood there rather shocked, jaws hanging open, and both Hermione and Ginny were holding back a giggle.

It was the first time they had actually so openly displayed any affection, and certainly nothing as passionate and intimate as this. Until now they had merely talked civilly and only a tentative comforting hand or word had been exchanged from Harry's side in the company of others.

The blonde wizard squeezed his eyes shut, instinctively trying close of the part of his soul he was threatening to bare, just as Harry's nose moved to nuzzle his cheek, lips brushing over Draco's as he did so; a silent plea for trust. Draco could deny him that no longer and he wound a hand in the ebony tresses, pulling him closer. Everything started to spin around; all of his senses were lost on the sea of emotions. They kept on kissing, their lips meeting with an incredible force, just able to feel, when accidentally their tongues met. Harry, absolutely not very experienced at all –were it kissing a girl or boy-, drew back, completely puzzled and dazed.

They gazed at each other intently, when abruptly the delicacy of the moment came crashing down on them when they realized they had an audience. Harry spluttered incoherently and tried to look anywhere but at him. Draco swallowed and then in a brief moment of inspiration to break the awkward silence, the Slytherin pushed a handful of snow in Harry's face.

Scrambling quickly to his feet, Draco tried to avoid the counter-attack the Gryffindor unleashed on him, quickly aided by the rest of his house-mates. By the time revenge had been taken and the awkward moment overcome the whole group was sopping wet and the biting temperatures were numbing their limbs.

"I surrender!" Draco yelled from under his arms trying to protect his face, as both Harry and Ginny continued to dump armful of snow unto him. His captors brought an end to their proceedings, stumbling to their feet laughing. "Heathens," Draco muttered, as the youngest Weasley couldn't resist rubbing one last handful of snow through his hair.

The word had barely left his mouth and Harry already had another pack of snow ready to bestow on him for the comment. Holding his hands up in surrender he said dryly: H"Okay, okay, I know! Powerful is the vengeance of the mighty Gryffindor."

A satisfied smirk curled the raven-head's lips -an expression that made him look rather like Draco himself- and he helped the blonde back to his feet. A few yards away from them Ron was finally being released from the thorough torture his twin brothers had placed on him and he scurried towards the house, looking a little blue and teeth rattling from the cold.

When rubbing his hands together to chase of the cold did not work, Draco moved to tuck them in his pockets. Before he could do so, Harry took both his hands in his own freezing ones and then, slowly, shyly, guided them under the hem of his own soaked sweater, pressing them against his abdomen. Harry let out a hiss at the sudden cold contact, before ducking his head to hide his flushed cheeks. Draco himself jumped from the bloody intimacy of the gesture. It took Harry a lot of his famed Gryffindor courage before he actually dared to meet Draco's eyes, inwardly cursing himself for the impulsive reaction. The Slytherin however offered a smug smirk, his face a careful mask of aloofness; yet leaving his eyes open to convey what he was feeling.  
Just as he turned his hands over, pressing the backs of his hands against the warm expanse of Harry's skin, grinning when the latter jumped again at the cold, there was an explosion of furious profanity. Both of them closed in the distance between them and the group of bustling Weasleys, the tirade coming from none other than Ron, soon joined by both the twins.

"HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE HERE AGAIN! YOU TRAITOR! YOU LEFT MUM WITH A BROKEN HEART AND YOU COME HERE TO ASK FORGIVENESS!" roared Ron.

"-YOU THREW IT ALL BACK IN HER FACE! YOU PATHETIC LI-" screamed George.

It did not take long for Harry to realize what was going on here, and when he moved to peek over a growling Ginny's shoulder that this suspicion was confirmed: futile were Percy's attempts to voice whatever it was that he wanted to say. It seemed that only Harry cared about how awful the young man looked, his clothes torn and he was sporting a large head wound where scarlet blood poured from liberally. His body quavered with barely concealed exhaustion, both emotional and physical, and while he seemed determined to say something, guilt was written all over his face.

"Guys!" Harry tried whilst raising his voice.

Nobody acknowledged this pursuit to reason, and the verbal offense simply continued.

"Hey c'mon guys!" he tried again, frowning irately.

Again, nothing changed, and it seemed rather than quieting down that the Weasley siblings continued with even more furious vigor.

Percy spluttered and silent tears traced his cheeks. Harry clenched his fists, his emotion reaching new highs; "SILENCE!" a magical outburst rolled heavily through the air, clearing in a wide circular diameter the whole area of snow and generally every sound. The mouths of the redheads moved unfaltering for a few more seconds before realizing they had lost their voice. Ron's mouth formed the words 'what the bloody hell?' but that was as far that he managed to express himself. Still trembling and unaware of the tendrils of pure, uncontrolled magic circling around his body, stirring his coal-colored hair, Harry's chest rose and fell laboriously. It wasn't until Draco managed to quell his shock, grab the Gryffindor's shoulder and shake him that Harry snapped out of it, that all sound returned immediately with an almost deafening impact: birds twittering busily, the air stirring the bald limbs of the trees, the crunching sounds of their footfalls in the snow, and the Weasleys' ragged breathing.

"What the bloody hell?" Ron did manage this time, voicing everyone's opinion. All the attention was transfixed on the perplexed boy-who-lived whom was trying to understand himself how he had just silenced basically a part of the world with a display of wandless magic he did not even know.

"Er…" Harry hesitated, at a temporary loss for words, "w-why don't we go inside to, you know, eh..." He stuttered, clearly shaken himself.

Hermiode put a tentative comforting hand on his shoulder, and steered Harry towards the house to do what he had just proposed himself.

So that's how they ended up twenty minutes later around the scrubbed wooden table in the kitchen, with an hysterically sobbing Molly clinging to an unmanly sniffing Percy, each of them offering each other apologies. Yet the reunion wasn't all that celebrated by the entire Weasley household: Harry sat faithful besides Ron, his mere presence offering the support the redhead needed, Hermione whispering soothing words to Ginny, who appeared torn between ripping out Percy's liver or hugging him to suffocation, the twins surprisingly still all of a sudden, yet their eyes betraying no good, Arthur cleaning the wound on Percy's temple, doing his best to hold back the tears of joy himself and finally Draco, leaning casually back in his chair, a leg hooked around Harry's and watching the scene with divided interest between said-scene and his piece of chocolate.

After a while Percy finally attempted to escape his mother's death-grip on him, and tried to say what he had come for in the first place, "I know I do not deserve your forgiving, but at least let me try to explain… I-"

But before he could go any further, Ron raised himself, his hands clenching the wooden tabletop with such force that his knuckles turned white, "Damn right you don't deserve it! Only when you have nothing left you come crawling back to us!"

Now he was slowly rounding the table, to the other side where Percy was sitting struck on his chair. Before it actually happened, Harry, Hermione and Draco could feel the hairs in the back of their necks rising, and miles away from there Alex, Finbar and Blaise halted their proceedings for the same reason. It was a ripple of uncontrolled magic pouring from Ron, which rose the temperature in the Burrow with easily ten degrees in barely a fraction of a heartbeat.

The emanation of this energy continued, exactly as Ron went on, "You are a pathetic traitor; turning on us for the prestige your position at Fudge's side provided you…" he halted right before Percy, their faces barely a inch apart, and everybody in the room was sweating purposefully, all except Ron himself "You even denied all what we were working so hard for to defend; our beliefs! YOU DISGUST ME!" at those last shouted words the fire in the hearth blazed upwards in a roaring torrid of consuming rage. The flames spilled over the floor, and still Ron went on, screaming his disgust in Percy's pale face. As if fueled with this fury, the flames ate their way closer, the crackling eerily resembling a gleeful chuckle.

Harry, who had scrambled of his own position at the table and therefore had forced Draco to move with him, had now made his way over to his erratic friend. The fire set alight the whole room and it was when Harry started calling Ron's name that the rest snapped out of the stupor and tried to put a stop to the untamable fire. "RON!" Harry cried shaking the arm of the latter. When Ginny's shrill scream reached his ears because the fire scored her delicate skin, Harry bit his lower lip, yanked Ron none too gently to face him and slapped him full-force in the face.

The impact of the blow was so strong that Ron's head jerked sideward and he stumbled to one knee.

As if released by a spell, the fire died out…

**At the Quiddich Pit…**

Finbar clutched his Nimbus 2000 when a wave of nausea undulated in his stomach, and a few meters higher above him in the air; Alex did the same, dropping the Quaffle. Blaise, who had been watching the high-pitched one-on-one swayed on his legs and sought out the support of the stands to balance himself. Meanwhile Alex staggered off her broom, or rather Draco's –the only thing that he had left at school and had therefore not been lost- and started to mumble something about fire and Ron. When both Finbar and Blaise queried what she was talking about, Alex closed her eyes, clutched her forehead and held her breath.

"They are okay." She murmured, "Draco says that the whole place is in chaos…"

Blaise and Finbar exchanged a look, "Alex," the Slytherin started diplomatically, "Draco is not here, remember? He is still at-"

Pushing away his hand on her back, Alex snapped, "Yes Blaise, I know!" and then realizing that neither of her companions knew about the telepathic link she and the blonde youth shared, she apologized, "Sorry… I'll explain later…"

**At the Burrow…**

Shaking violently, Ron stared numbly at the black charred floor marking most of the living room. He was a monster; was the endless mantra droning on in his head, and he was even oblivious to the gentle words coming from both his best friends. It had controlled him like some sort of drug, the anger, it had poured from his very being and he was aware of what was happening, but did not recognize it until Harry had literally punched him out of it. It was as if he'd gone berserk and he absently wondered whether it was similar to what a werewolf experienced every full moon. For what must have been the twentieth time a flood of apologies came from his mouth and Hermione soothingly ran a hand over his face to calm him.

Draco, who was holding Harry's free hand, was frowning studiously, trying to puzzle out what had just happened. Meanwhile he conversed mentally with his fellow Slytherin, giving her access to watch through his eyes. His friend insisted that they needed to tell the rest of the company about 'her', that it was vital for them to know. And when he finally gave in, even though he thought it was none of their business, Draco promised that he and Harry would tell Weasel and Granger, while Alex would tell Finbar and Blaise. Something big was happing here, and Draco's intuition told him that the consequences were already taking place. The consequences of the reason he was still alive while he should have been dead.

Unable to explain, even though he tried, his family ensured Ron that it was alright. Yet their faces belied their own conviction of that statement, and all of them kept glancing worriedly at the young redhead.

When most of the damage wrecked by the fire had been repaired with combined force, everybody sat down in the living, and though they all tried to force their expressions to be relaxed, a certain tension dominated the atmosphere. A subdued fire had been cast in the hearth again, and the red flames seemed so innocent and small compared to the sea of murderous inferno from barely an hour ago.

At first a tentative hushed conversation took place, which strayed subsequently from the mysterious fire back to the source of all things: the arrival of Percy. This time though, Ron remained impassionate when Percy started talking and his attention was even aroused when his older brother came to the bottom of things; "Fudge has gone mad," he rasped, blue eyes glazing over as he recalled what had happened the very morning, "Things have been going bad for quite some time now, after the battle at the Department of Mystery, making the return of He-who-must-not-be-named official. And after the clearing of Black's name, which meant there had been an innocent man been locked away in Azkaban, and after the betrayal of the dementors, even though Fudge had proclaimed they were on our side… "

Though he tried, Harry couldn't suppress a snort and was surprised when Draco did exactly the same in unison with him.

Percy faltered briefly in his explanation at that, and his eyes fastened on the unexplainable presence of Draco Malfoy. Then he ploughed on, "When I arrived this morning, I entered the minister's office to hand in the reports I had to finish…" he was staring openly at Draco now, the Slytherin returning the gaze coldly with dawning understanding of what had happened, "A-and," Percy went on, "Sitting there, talking calmly with Fudge w-was…"

"Lucius." Draco finished for him, his voice deceivingly steady.

Percy nodded eagerly, slumping back in his armchair, "I was shocked and I tried to ask… why there was a man that had been proved a Death Eater in the office… b-but when I said that, he went crazy. He said that Lucius was an honorable man, who had just been at the wrong place on the wrong time. I countered by saying that he had been questioned under Veritaserum and thus had confessed his allegiance to the Dark Lord, but he cursed me…" a trembling hand moved to touch the mended wound on his head.

His eyes were closed while Draco's mind rushed at top speed through the meager information he had. At long last he turned to the raven haired Gryffindor, "Harry, do you think this has something to do with your scar this morning?" That very same morning, Harry had awoken Draco as he laid turning and twisting among the covers, grunting in agony. Even in his sleep he was unconsciously covering his scar with a hand.

Hermione opened her mouth to demand why he hadn't told them, so that they could have consulted Dumbledore about it, but Harry silenced her with a stern look, "Yes, very possible," he said slowly, "He was pleased."

Through narrowed eyes, Draco squinted absently into the fire, "Why would they risk such a thing?" he questioned no-one in particular, "The whole society will oppose him, what does he possibly hope to accomplish in such a short notice?"

There were no answers to these questions, and all of them sat in a tense silence, each one of them brooding on their own doubts and suspicions

**That same evening, at Hogwarts…**

Alex's throat was dry after she had retold exactly what Harry and Draco had learned to both her companions. After the Gryffindor had snuck late at night into the Slytherin common room, Finbar and Blaise had breathlessly listened to every word Alex had said to them. And how incredible the whole tale might seem, it made a lot of sense to Gryffindor. For one; now he understood why his Auratic Sight was so controlled around her: the additional magic that radiated from her allowed the little extra he needed to rein this ability.

The brown haired Slytherin's face gave no single emotion away. His gaze was intense, and he looked at her from under hooded eyelids. Also, Blaise was the first to break the silence with rather a statement than a question: "So, actually, that makes Lucius your father, does it not?"

Her reaction was not what he expected: her head whirled around to choke his aloofness with burning green eyes. The answer was partially hissed in scarcely repressed anger, "Don't you dare to speak of that man as my father. He is a murderer," with sharp movements she stood up and paced to the other side of the dorm to vent her disgust on something else, "Innocent blood stained the hands of Lucius as they created me." Alex turned and she opened her arms in emphasizes when she said, "My flesh is being supported by the skeleton of a young dragoon girl and within me beats the stolen heart of a dragon. My innocent appearance was created by the maiden blood of a virgin, taken by force!

"I am a goddamn abomination! Lucius did not want to give life, he sought to create death." Were the uncharacteristically bitter words coming from the young woman standing before them.

Finbar leaned back into the pillows and tilted his head sideward, his loose dark hair brushing his cheek, "And yet you stand here as our friend."

Then Blaise cut of any protests she might have had by saying; "If that is so then I suggest you'd better not throw away those sacrifices, but use them to give back what was taken." Was his blunt advice, yet as always rang true.

Alex didn't even get to murmur a reply, but instead lowered herself heavily next to Blaise. Holding her head in both hands, feeling as if it were going to burst, she sighed deeply, "I know," she whispered barely audible, "I feel so hollow."

Both young men felt their hearts ache for this creature, and Blaise, in a rare display of total un-Slytheriness caressed her white locks soothingly.

Finbar tried to steer the conversation to a slightly less dire topic; "I always thought dragoons were a legend."

In a horrible attempt to appear less repelled, Alex tried to joke: "Sure they are… and Tolkien was a muggle."

"Wasn't he?" Blaise said with a smirk, revealing perfect pure white teeth, his brown eyebrows cresting in taunting query.

Alex allowed her thoughts to stray and gratefully continued this meaningless conversation… A topic so much safer than the origin of her grim existence. She reached over to the bedside table and picked up that book that she had gotten from Hermione for her Christmas, "This my dear Blaise," she said, whilst waving her copy of _Lord of the Rings_ in front of his face, "is the perfect proof of alternate dimensions."

The Slytherin snorted, "Right. Sure it is."

"Oh c'mon Zabini!" Alex said with a disbelieving laugh, "You don't actually think he made all of this up? No muggle could possible do that! This is the proof of a wizard that was granted a glimpse of an alternate universe!"

"Eeeeh…nooo," Blaise interjected, "That is the proof that wizards with no life and an unhealthy supply of fire whiskey do eventually go mad."

_He's right you know… _Came Draco's dry interjection in her mind. Giving him a mental swat over the head she countered, _Shut up blondie, and busy yourself with boy toy over there. _Muttering vehemently Draco grudgingly retreated and Alex grinned to herself in silent victory.

When she turned back to her friends, both young wizards were raising their eyebrows. "I take it that was a mental conversation?" Finbar smiled at her.

She nodded her confirmation and stretched her arm so the still nameless lizard would crawl leisurely its way up to her shoulder.

The next morning, it was Saturday by now, Harry finished a similar explanation to both his best friends. Both of them were shaking their heads incredulously, amazed that the truth could be so harsh. The girl they had accepted as a friend was originally created a weapon for war, and had been awakened this summer in order to gain control over her again to annihilate Harry.

Draco voiced his suspicion about the progress of the consequences.

"So you think the whole fire incident yesterday was because of Christmas?" Ron asked confused, frowning because it seemed so surreal.

The blonde Slytherin barely wasted a glare on him, but continued nevertheless; "Yes. Think about it: Alex, the true Alex, is pure magic. The same magic that runs through both your and my veins. When she united the lot of you to summon me back, she acted like a catalyst… modifying and increasing the rate of a magical reaction without being consumed in the process. It sounds implausible but what if she not only modified the given energy, but also the initial source." He paused meaningfully, gauging their confused reaction, "Us."

Both male Gryffindors were gaping in a rather goldfish-like fashion at him, and only Hermione seemed to be with him, "I think that you might be closer to the truth than you think…"

Draco interrupted briefly be murmuring 'of course, I'm a Malfoy, I'm always right' in a very superior tone, but Hermione wisely ignored it.

"You see; there was a… something like a shock, a spark, which went through all of us… as if…" Hermione trailed of, unable to describe what she had felt.

"As if something awoke in us." Ron murmured softly.

Harry nibbled his lower lip while his fingers threaded their way through a ruffle of unkempt black hair. "The wheel of fate turns…" he repeated Finbar's words softly, "It doesn't make any sense…"

The statement however was not followed by a much desired answer, but by a deep stillness. The four of them were waging a war against their inner turmoil, trying to tame it in order to get some answers.

Harry himself was deep in introspection. His chin was propped up the palm of his hand, the other resting on Draco's knee. Opposite of him sat both his friends, Hermione rubbing the pad of her thumb over a distressed Ron's wrist. The werewolf's words lingered in the middle of his jumbled thoughts. The prophecy. What if Alex had unconsciously not only modified their magic, but also their fates? Immediately Harry felt very guilty; how could he be so cowardly to wish for someone else to fulfill his destiny? Besides, it was unlikely that Alex had saved him from becoming either a murderer or a murdered one himself.

"Another thing," Hermione spoke up suddenly, and her deep brown eyes traveled over the gap between herself and Ron to the two young men. Her gaze lingered on the hand Harry was still resting on Draco's knee, "What are you two going to do when we go back?"

Both of them followed Hermione's pointedly glance at the hand on Draco's knee. The Gryffindor sighed deeply, and squeezing softly the warmth of the Slytherin's leg, though rather possesivly, "We thought it would be better if we tried to pretend like nothing's happened."

"Right," Ron spluttered, "You forgot the mushy farewell kiss." Again, he spontaneously shuddered.

Draco shook his head, "Alex has persuaded that werewolf guy of yours to talk to the Gryffindors who witnessed that to keep quiet. Seems rather stupid to trust those idiots, but who am I to tell?"

"We can trust them!" Hermione came to her housemates' defense, "Anyway, I think both of you are out of your minds. How could you possibly hope to be separated for more than an hour? Not even a week has passed!" her tone was calm and reasonable and both of them knew she was right.

The Gryffindor shrugged helplessly, "We need Draco to have their trust. He alone now can influence them enough to stay at least neutral." His eyes were anchored to the floor and before he could stop himself the truth sealed deep within came out; "Besides, if he stays close to me, he'll become a target. I don't want him to-to… get hurt."

That had been something Harry had not told him. Draco's eyes were widened in surprise as he realized that the Gryffindor's greatest concern was not the alliance the Slytherins would choose, but his safety. A loose laugh slipped from him, similar like bark, coming deep from within his chest, "Don't be going all Gryffindor on me Harry, I'm a big boy, I think I can handle it myself."

It seemed that only Hermione caught the suggestive waggling of his eyebrows, but neither Harry nor Ron did. The Slytherin's grin widened at the scandalized look on her face and again he let out a laugh.

On Harry's part it sent shivers down his spine, and he wished he would do that more often. It suited him.

**That afternoon, at Hogwarts.**

Stretching languidly before she rolled over onto her stomach, Alex sniggered as Finbar muttered under his breath. He had valiantly taken on the task to comb her hair, a truly difficult feat, seeing as she was as careless about the unruly white mop as Harry was about his ebony one.

"You know what," Finbar groused as he picked at a tangled knot, "I'll tie it in dreadlocks this summer, if you want that is."

Enjoying the attention lavished on her, Alex mumbled sleepily, "Dreadlocks?" her war-training had not included different styles of hair fashion.

"Remember that friend of the Weasley twins at the Ball?" he asked, and had to grab the strand of hair when it slipped from his hands as she nodded in response, "Well, he had dreadlocks."

Shifting her head over so slightly to look at him from over her shoulder, she answered, "Really? I think I'd like that. Looked pretty awesome, not to mention convenient."

"S'not as convenient as it looks, though," Finbar explained, running his fingers through a newly unknotted lock of hair, "Dreadlocks need a lot of time to tighten, and then I mean easily a year. But if you look after them regularly, give them time to form nice, smooth partitions, they'll be alright." And as afterthought he added, "I think it'd look good on you."

As if voicing his opinion, Blaise gave a loud snore from his own position on the bed next to them. Alex's tale and revelations had left them talking until early in the morning, and Finbar had been truly exhausted when he'd returned back to the Gryffindor tower. And now, once again, he found himself sitting in the mystic and chilly Slytherin dungeons.

He should be inclined to spend time with his own housemates, but there was a pull deep inside of him, that urged him to seek them out. And the feeling would not be satisfied until he gave in. Not that he minded it that much actually; being with Alex he enjoyed for obvious reasons (though he would refrain from referring to them as something more than devoted friendship) and Blaise was not so bad either. Surely the Slytherin was an odd one, not to mention sometimes slightly sinister, but he was pure at heart. And he cared –not that Blaise would ever admit.

Soft and smooth strands twined around his fingers as he divided the rather impressive mass of hair into three equal parts. Then nimbly he twisted them into a thick braid, finally using his teeth to pull the elastic band off his wrist to secure the end.

Alex beamed her thanks at him and shifted her position so that she sat cross-legged against the headboard. She snuggled comfortably away in the beautiful cloak Blaise had given her. It must have cost a small fortune, and briefly there had been a discussion because Alex was reluctant to accept such a gift. It was a long slate gray hooded robe, the fabric light enough to ensure maximal mobility and stealth, yet so that it would keep one warm even in the most chilling temperatures. Nevertheless it had a black embroidery around the hem; mythical creatures of long forgotten times curling over in one other, forming a whole. But the most extraordinary was its ability to blend within its surroundings, making the bearer almost invisible to the eye. It was not invisibility cloak, but it was hand made by the Elves. Or so the shopkeeper had said, and in Blaise's opinion it had been a present worthy of his friend.

From his position, Finbar's eye fell on a particular miniature masterpiece of stitching: a dragon. That brought his drifting unconsciousness back to a question that had been burning on his tongue to be asked. His voice was soft but nonetheless resolute when he queried, "Why a dragoon…?"

Glowing green eyes snapped up that question. It was subtly phrased, but indirectly Finbar had asked why her vessel had been constructed with the skeleton of a dragoon girl. Why Voldemort had chosen to rip the flesh off the girl's bones to acquire such a skeleton, while any other victim's might have been just as good.

Finbar mentally cursed his overactive curiosity for again getting the better of him and he lowered his gaze in shame as he felt the chaotic inner conflict coming from his friend. It came as a surprise when she softly spoke, after remaining completely still for the better of ten minutes.

Releasing her lower lip from where it had been caught between her teeth she asked, "What do you know about dragoons?" Leaning back on her elbows, Alex watched his every move closely, her eyes calm and fathomless.

"Well," he began uncertainly, "I know I am wrong when I'm going to say this. Prejudges have always deformed the truth about that what humankind feared. Just as it is with werewolves and vampires… but, for as far as I know, dragoons are supposed to be ferocious carnivores resembling dragons. It is said that they have been extinct for centuries…"

Nodding thoughtfully Alex peered into the nothingness of the torch-lit dorm-room. Blaise was mumbling incoherently in his sleep, and he rolled over once again, clutching the bedclothes in his fist. When he stilled and continued his slumber, Alex spoke up again, "What do you know about the anatomy of a dragoon?"

Narrowing his eyes, Finbar unconsciously plucked at his goatee, "They are said to stand easily about 6'7" tall, and they are immortal," pausing, he dug deeply into the numerous fairytales he had been told by his parents, "And wings…"

Pushing herself up and leaning forward, Alex started to explain, "Dragoons go through aging-stages; the girl whose skeleton I bear was obviously one of the smaller of her kin… probably why they chose her, seeing as she was one of the only of her kin that they would have been able to capture. Secondly, she had neither claws nor wings; meaning that she was under five hundred years old."

"_Five hundred years?"_ Finbar blurted, light blue eyes opening wide.

"That's very young, Finbar. Dragoons are ageless, yet not invincible." She provided him, before coming down to the core of the matter, "However young or old she might have been, that does not alter the components of her bone structure," there was a brief gap in her explanation and she groped to find the right words. Eventually she settled with another question, "Do you know of what a humans' skeleton –your skeleton- consists of?"

Taking his time to think, Finbar idly brushed his lips against his index finger. After a while he slowly responded, "Well, approximately our skeleton is four times as strong as concrete-"

Before he could go on, Alex quickly prompted, "And what makes the bone structure so strong?"

Shaking his head clear of the confusion he hesitantly answered, "Uuuh… isn't that because two-thirds of the bone is made of various salts, primarily compounds containing phosphorus and calcium?"

Alex looked genuinely impressed, a small smile playing around her lips, "Very good. Now, that's what makes me such a deadly opponent in battle; I have no calcium in my bones…" at Finbar's non-understanding expression she smiled sadly, "not calcium, but mythril."

"M-mythril?" Finbar mumbled incredulously. The whole thing was getting odder and odder with each passing moment. But her aura gave no indication of deceit; she was not lying.

"Oh yes, it exists," she leaned back again, taking a more relaxed position, "Out of what do you think the sword of Gryffindor was forged? Oh, yes, I know about that, too. They taught me everything that might be vital to ensure their victory. But that is not what this is about…" she sighed, and then continued, as if suddenly incredible fatigued, "Other than the mythril, my heart is protected by an extra breast-bone which encloses the organ and is virtually indestructible. That in combination with my fast recovery-ability makes me practically safe to all physical assaults."

"…Nearly safe." Finbar repeated.

Her face showed a small smirk, "Yes, nearly. There is only one place where I am vulnerable a-"

But the words choked in her throat and she went completely rigid. Finbar could see her lips tremble, raw shock evident on her face. Her eyes were fastened on a point over Finbar's shoulder. Then he heard it too; a ragged gasp. Blaise. He turned around.

Nobody could ever understand the mere horrification of what they saw: on the bed next to Blaise's, lay the form of a mutilated body. Convulsing and shuddering as the life seeped out from it. Blood coated the linen bedcover, dripping out the large gash in the chest; running down in thick streams of dark scarlet. Ice gray eyes stared lifelessly up at the ceiling, and from his mouth, too, bubbled the person's lifeblood. Crushed ribs were bent outward, clearly visible even from their position two beds further. It was Draco.

From the moment that sheer panic seized Alex, she could feel the presence of her sibling in her mind, he himself beyond coherent thought as _he saw himself_ lying there through her eyes.

A surge of wild magic wracked their bodies, both of Alex and Finbar, and also those of Hermione, Ron, Harry and Draco. Pure power crawled up their spines and down again, and they retched as their stomachs writhed as if they'd devoured snakes. Pain pierced them, rendering them immobile and their sights clouded with black rage. It was nothing like the burning anger that Ron had gone through, nothing like the chill of the magic he had emanated. It was not necessarily stronger, but it was black. Dark. Pain and despair and all that what made a person wish to pass away. It was Dark Magic.

Though it should have disturbed his Sight, it did not; it fueled it. And what he saw was what made Finbar stand up, though he stumbled, his arm securely around Alex's shoulders. When he somehow managed to cross the distance to the broken form of Draco Malfoy, he locked his eyes with the glowing green ones of his friend. In his free hand he had Alex's book. Making sure he had her full attention, her clear reason; he dropped it right above the shuddering mass of flesh that was supposed to be Draco Malfoy. It fell right through.

A terrible dawning understanding undulated in Alex's gut, and she slowly turned to where Blaise was lying. The brown haired wizard was lying on his side, shuddering nearly as badly as the apparition of Draco. His eyes were wide open and fastened on the simulation of his dying friend; but there was no iris, no pupil. They were completely white. As Alex extended a weary hand, his nose began to bleed.

Grasping his shoulder, she shook him firmly, "Blaise! Blaise!" her voiced hitched and her movements became more desperate, "Answer me!"

"C'mon, Blaise," Finbar urged, his voice hoarse and wavering. He touched the Slytherin's forehead.

With a keening cry he bolted upward, his arms flying haphazardly around him. As Alex caught him, trying to restrain him, the white drained from his eyes and disappeared. So did the apparition. Shivering violently in Alex's embrace, Blaise drew in ragged breaths, fear evident on his face, "I-I had a nightmare… oh my God… Draco…he…"

He never got finish what he was trying to say: his stomach clenched and he heaved. With a smothered cough blood splattered all over the stone floor.

* * *

Lovelies; I am so sorry for the huge delay… I really deserve being whacked over the head with a rubber duckie… But I've kinda been busy; you know summer vacation and stuff basically getting in touch with my friends. Also; three ficcies is a little much, so I kinda have a hard rime trying to update all 3 of them regularly. Other than that, I've been working in my own original story; _Lost Prophecies_ and I've bought this totally awesome inking pen and I just had to try it out on a drawing of Alex I made! 

Also; know I am not ever going to abandon this fic without at least making a big deal out of it; I totally want to get this one down. So if I don't update in a while it's because I'm busy or something, not because I abandoned it!

You know the drill: REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW! Know that each one of your reviews make me happy, how long or short they might be! Besides, one lil' click on the purple-ish button and you've made pathetic lil' me's day.

Poor Blaise… I'm only torturing him so much because I like 'em. The more I make characters suffer, the more I like him. So yeah, I'm kinda fucked up in a way…

Keiko-keket is still the mighty beta who purifies this fic from all evil typos stupid me makes! So let's all sacrifice cookies and candy in her honor!


	21. What the Bloody Hell!

**Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.**

**By ****Wihstrum**

**Chapter Twenty: What the Bloody Hell!**

The bed jogged heavily as Finbar sat down on it. Resting his elbows on his knees and propping his chin up on his entwined fingers he watched silently Alex's care over a barely conscious Blaise. She was cradling his head in her lap, her face bent close to that of her friend's, her long white hair trailing down about him like a veil. Somewhere during the past ten minutes it had slipped loose from its band.

He tried to keep his face as passive and blank as possible, but even though the seriousness of the situation he couldn't help but feel a slight hint of jealousy. Though he really shouldn't; and this caused him to constantly hit himself mentally over the head for it.

But it came again in all its disgusting vigor as Alex started to unbutton Blaise's blood-stained blouse, pushing it aside and splaying both her hands over the expanse of his skin. Finbar forced himself to bite his lip, and focus at the problems at matter.

"C'mon honey, stay with me…" Alex murmured softly, pressing her hand close to his heart.

Finbar witnessed in wonder as a soft white glow spread from her fingers over Blaise's chest and upper torso. It cast a white sheen over Alex's tanned face, her hair shimmering with silver glints.

"I couldn't help him," Blaise's shaky voice came, his eyes glazed over feverishly, "He was right there, but I couldn't help him. The more I tried, the more he bled."

Alex moved one of her hands to his face, rubbing his cheek with the pad of her thumb, "But you did. I couldn't have saved him without you, Blaise. We couldn't have done so without your help." She brushed gently some of the tousled brown locks from his pale and wan looking face, "It was a nightmare." She soothed him with a whisper. Looking up she added more quietly, her dusky face troubled "I think."

Suddenly Blaise arched his back and moaned softly, causing Alex to withdraw her hands at once. She cast a pleading look to the werewolf, whose head had snapped up at the sound. Even without having to switch to his Auratic Sight he could see what was happing; it clouded about the Slytherin like a tangible haze, oozing its corrupt and polluting presence into the atmosphere.

Finbar shook his head, mouth parting in disbelief, "He's in a Dark High."

Green eyes reflected his disbelief sharply. Both of them knew what that meant; Finbar due to his educational history at Durmstrang and Alex because of her original purpose with which she had been called into life.

A Dark High was a mixture of intense ecstasy and agonizing pain. After harnessing truly Dark Magic, incredible pleasure would flow through the caster, making that person aware of the power they were holding. Afterwards there would be a long throbbing pain and a deep feeling of misery, because using such Magic would affect someone to the core and backfire. Dark Magic always lent endowment of its mastery in exchange for the life force of its caster. That was what drove most Dark wizards beyond coherent reasoning; it was like a drug. Slowly it would create a permanent craving for the pleasure of the boundless supremacy it would grant, but ultimately caster ended up giving his or her soul in the need for greater and more; and was enslaved to the Dark, unwillingly or unknowingly.

"Fuck." Was all Alex could bring herself to utter.

Blaise's hazel eyes stared up at her, pupils dilating and obscuring his eyes nearly to onyx. A clam hand found hers and he clung to it as if his life depended on it. Frightened because he did not understand what was happening to him.

"Shhh… Relax, it'll be over soon." Alex tried to calm him, a shaking hand caressing his hair continually.

She held him like that until he fell in a restless slumber.

Alex's heart thudded in her throat as his breathing pattern evened, yet the grip on her hand did not lessen, almost as if he were afraid that he would fall if he let her go. "Oooh… Finbar," she whispered, voice thick and trembling, "It's all my fault."

The Gryffindor hadn't moved an inch from his position on the other bed, his head light with the heady pressure of raw Dark power. Yet his crystal blue eyes sought burning green ones within a second, "Don't say that. You called us, we came."

"I used a variation of Imperio." She said bitterly, the caressing of Blaise's locks becoming almost frantic, as if she hoped to wipe him clean of the changes she had triggered within him.

"Oh c'mon," Finbar said firmly, his eyes holding hers unfalteringly, "Any of us could have easily thrown it off."

Apparently this didn't soothe Alex one bit, "What have I done?" she pulled the blanket over Blaise's exposed chest, straightening it repeatedly in a rueful silence, "What the bloody hell have I done?"

The question was literal, what _had_ happened?

"You know," Finbar began ponderously, "It is as if he and I are opposites, yet completely alike. My magic nullifies his, his nullifies mine and even so they draw each other." He licked his lips thoughtfully. He remained silent for the better of ten minutes, lost in deep thought before he suddenly asked, "Name me some opposites," at Alex's questioning arched eyebrow he specified, "You know, like up and down, left and right, man and woman…"

As response he got a small noise of confusion but she complied nevertheless with a half-shrug, "Uuuh… Black and white, right and wrong, fire and ice…" as she continued tagging of opposites Finbar stood up and began to pace, index finger curled against his lips as he listened, "…Gryffindor and Slytherin (they both smiled at that), light and dark, good and evil, rich and poor, love and hate…"

Finbar abruptly stopped in mid-stride, blue eyes widening breathlessly, "What did you say?"

"Love and hate?"

"No, no, no, before… light a-"

"-nd dark" they finished in unison.

"That's it!" he whispered excitedly, and particularly lunged himself at his brown book bag, large hands slipping inside and rummaging through its contents. He drew out an ancient leather bound book, the golden letters of the title long since faded and unreadable. With a few steps he strode over to Alex and sat carefully down on the bed as to not awaken the sleeping Slytherin. He leafed through the book frantically and upon finding what he needed he stilled in complete rapture as he re-read the passage.

"Talk to me big guy," Alex mumbled as she poked her head over one of his shoulders, "what's going on in that handsome head of yours?"

He flushed at that and glanced nervously at the face so close to his, her chin resting on his right shoulder. Alex had always been a very tactile person, easily touching people in small gestures of affection and companionship.

She smelled_ so_ good.

Stuttering hopelessly he choked out, "W-w-well," he cleared his throat and jabbed his finger at the yellow-faded page, "A-according to this book our universe consists of seven basic elements, which are also expressed through our magic. I-if we trail every form of the numerous uses nowadays we should eventually fall back on these exact seven elements. Everything, including humans, in the universe must have a relationship with these elements. The seven basics namely are Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Caliga, Spirit and Energy."

"Never heard of Caliga, Spirit and Energy before…" Alex said next to his ear, tickling his cheek with her breath and stirring the dark hairs falling over his face. She offered him a sly grin at the catch in his breath.

'Damn those Slytherins', Finbar thought vehemently and shot her reproaching look. "A-anyways, Caliga is the old term for what we now call Dark Magic, Spirit stands for light and Energy is all what binds… it's hard to explain.

"But, what's so interesting about this elemental theory is that there are seven elements and… seven of us."

Alex pursed her lips and sucked in one side of her cheek, "The theory rings a bell, but for as far as I am concerned there is a hole in it;" her hand snaked around him and indicated another passage on the following page, "All is always is perfect harmony. There always is balance, and as the book says here and I quote: "There are four material elements, those whose ways are visible to eyes of the living. Yet there only three astral, those who can only be sensed and felt. The balance is disturbed."

Nodding impatiently, causing Alex's teeth to rattle on his shoulder, he interjected, "But it makes sense, doesn't it? Ron with the Fire, Blaise with… what just happened. It could be."

"But how? I haven't… I didn't…" came the Slytherin's bemused reply.

"Think we should consult the Firenze about it?" Finbar asked rhetorically.

Alex drew back and gazed down again on the figure of the young man sleeping in her loose embrace, "I don't know… I think we should wait, 'til Harry comes back."

The conversation died, and the white-haired woman did not look up again. Guilt was written all over her tired face and within her eyes laid a terrible uncertainty. When Finbar moved to stand up, mumbling something about Gryffindors and dinner, Alex gently pried herself loose from Blaise's desperate grasp and moved with him to the door to let him out.

Uncertainly they both hovered at the door, Alex studying the tips of her toes peeking from under the large, black legwarmers slipping down to her ankles. She drew the cloak around her tightly, trying to shield herself away from the world.

"C'mere…" Finbar offered before he could stop himself and opened his arms.

Surprisingly she did come to him, burying her face against his broad chest and wrapping her arms around him in acceptation. He chucked her head under his chin and returned the favor of enfolding her within his embrace. For a moment he was almost afraid that he would break her, so small she felt in his arms. Alex wasn't very tall to begin with and her slim figure seemed even more delicate in his arms. But it was a lie he knew; if the long sleek muscles stretching under her skin were anything to go by. If she wished she could kill him before he even realized he was gone. Without using magic.

"It'll be okay," he murmured into her hair, "I promise."

Alex didn't say anything, but offered him a vague hint of her old grin as she stepped back.

He reluctantly let go, but had to if he did not want his hormones to get the better of him. "I'll see you in the morning." He turned and he pulled down the handle of the door, slipping through. Before he had completely closed it behind him he said softly, "Call if you need my help." Then he left, the door shutting behind him quietly.

She had barely the time to analyze what had just occurred, when: _Don't tell me you're falling for werewolf-boy? _

_Stop snooping around in my head! _Alex replied her friend indignantly.

_I could sense your libido doing a happy dance all the way over here, don't fool me. _Came his ever so dry comment to that and Alex just _knew_ he was smirking.

Shifting away from the door, the Slytherin made her way back up to the dormitory. On her way she picked up the iguana as it crawled into view from under a closet. Putting the lizard on her shoulder, she formed the next thought in mind: _Even if I were –and I am not saying I am- falling for him, what objection could you possible find to disapprove?_

_Well, for starters, I'd appreciate it if you'd pick someone else, or rather someone that will not change every full moon into something that can eat you. Catch my drift? _Even in his mental tone, Alex rolled her eyes at the snobbish sniff following his statement.

_Well, maybe I just like it rough. _She sent him a saucy image to go with it.

_Yes, thank you, now I'm scarred for life. _Draco answered to that in a scandalized fashion, _You're impossible, you know that?_

Alex fancied him with an equivalent to a mental grin, _Well, technically, I _am_ related to you, drakie-poo. _

_Charmed._He muttered.

Both of them smiled softly.

**At the Burrow…**

"That's just bloody insane!" Ron exclaimed with an unusual rise in his voice, "If you ask me Wolfman simply has to stop hanging around in the Slytherin dungeons. Bad vibes."

Harry snickered quietly at Draco's hard look at that statement.

Meanwhile Ron went on, clearly on a roll, unaware of the rueful glare, "Honestly, an over a two-thousand year old theory about elementals now coming back to haunt us? Really now, I think he's getting a little high on Alex's Slytherin advances… can never be good, that…" he added with a deliberate glance at Harry's head resting on the pillow in Malfoy's lap.

Grinding his teeth, the blonde interfered waspishly, "Shut it Weasel, don't make me hex you into next week."

"Oooh… I'm terrified," Ron taunted with a girlish falsetto, "Big bad Ferret is going to hurt me… oooh…"

"Oh stop it you two," Hermione chided, pursing her lips, "I for one, do believe there might be something to it."

Draco arched both his eyebrows with a softer version of his smirk twitching his lips upward, "Because it was in a book?"

"No!" the female Gryffindor shot back indignantly; "I think Firenze did not just give Finbar that book for nothing." She explained with a wise tone in her voice, "Don't you think so too, Harry?"

The raven head pried open an eye, not seeing that much due to the absence of his glasses, "I think it's a little far-fetched…" he answered truthfully, "I just don't see how such a great thing could just _happen_."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, big brown eyes fastened at the snow fluttering downward to the earth through the window. "Have any of you felt any _different_?" she asked softly after a moment of silence.

"Can't say I've been feeling exactly normal," Draco drawled in his usual aloof tone, looking purposefully down at the young man dozing off against him, "If you know what I mean…"

The raven haired Gryffindor stuck out his tongue, one hand reaching up to pinch Draco's nose.

"Ugh," Ron winched as if he'd just eaten something akin to dragon dung, "honestly Harry, why _Malfoy_ of all people? You've got terrible taste."

Harry's eyes remained fastened onto Draco's face looking down upon him in his vulnerable position, "No," he said with a soft grin, "No, I don't think so."

"Ugh," Ron repeated himself, causing Hermione to giggle behind her hand.

**Back at Hogwarts. Sunday Morning.**

"Ooooh yeah," Alex chortled happily, "Now that was what I call food."

Blaise gazed at her impassively from over the other side of the table, arching a graceful eyebrow at the now three empty bowls of pudding Alex had devoured within the blink of an eye. Wherever she had put the food in her 5'3" high frame was a mystery to him.

Grabbing a strawberry flavored Popsicle and popping it between her lips; she slumped down on her chair, giving the perfect imitation of some humanized Garfield. Especially seeing as she was literally purring, the sounds making several surrounding students cower away wearily. Her animagus-from was starting to rub of on her.

"I'm tired," Blaise said evenly, which did not change even as Alex gave him a worried look. Slytherin pride and control had kept him from remaining safely inside his dormitory, but yesterday's memorable, not to mention disturbing episode had wore him out, and he was drained from the little energy he had scraped together by just attending breakfast in the Great hall.

His companion nodded, smiling gently at him, "Let's go, we'll play a game of chess."

The made their way together towards the immense doors, walking next to each other in silent companionship. Alex tilted her head towards the enchanted ceiling, which was dusting them with white flocks of snow, as always warm and dry, mysteriously evaporating right above the dinner tables. She was feeling strangely as ease, her heart thudding rapidly in her chest, as if something very good was going to happen.

As if entirely on cue, Finbar appeared next to her, "Hi guys," he greeted in is usual baritone rumble, and turning to Blaise he added, "How are you feeling?"

The young man gave a half-shrug, but did not answer and started to trail behind them, instead of simply walking next to them. Finbar sighed at the obvious proud the Slytherin was trying to protect, and let him have his way.

"Fancy a one-on-one match later this afternoon?" Alex offered, having to look up at his taller height.

He nodded, a challenging grin being his only response. They sauntered lazily through the enormous arc that made the door, side by side. Alex suddenly halted, giving him a querying glance. Coming to stop himself, Finbar waited for the question he sensed to come by the wave of confusion she radiated.

"You know, I really don't understand why there's twig hanging on every doorway," she said with a frown, pointing upwards.

Finbar followed the direction of her finger with a sense of dawning understanding creeping up his throat.

A mistletoe.

"Uuuuuhh…" he began sheepishly, coloring such a shade of red that it would have given Ron a run for his trouble.

"You're supposed to kiss," Blaise provided cunningly, his intentions of slacking behind oh-so clear now, "its tradition."

Looking not even the slightest impressed, Alex said with a huff, her left cheek bobbing out due to the Popsicle; "Because of a stick?"

"Exactly." Blaise said simply, directing a gleeful smirk at Finbar's bewildered and so very typical Gryffindor-ish state, "Now if you'll excuse me, I don't need to see this." And brushed past them with a whirl of expensive robes.

Alex was giving him an incredulous look, withdrawing the Popsicle with a loud 'pop'. "He's shittin' me, ain't he?"

Wishing for all the mercy of the Gods that the ground would just open up under his feet and swallow him, Finbar replied crookedly, "N-no. He's not."

"Really now?" Alex mused as she shook her head at the mistletoe, calling upon all her Slytherin coolness to keep herself from looking even the slightest unsettled, "Well, who are we to break with the tradition?" she gave him a wolfish grin, but inwardly she was droning, 'Oh God, please save me. I've never done this before. I don't want –I do- No I don't –I do I do- Nonono –yesyesyes-.

Finbar forced himself to de-anchor his eyes from the floor and at least look at her. His eyes were as clear as crystals as he met Alex's unearthly brimming green eyes.

Time froze, and both of them held their breath.

They stood facing each other poised on the edge of something and then as one they moved towards each other. With that very move their roles reversed; all of Finbar's doubts and fears flowed from him and he determinately snaked a hand to the back of Alex's neck, tilting her head up. His thumb softly stroked between the tangle of stark-white hair, and he was so close now he could see Alex's lips tremble, rigid and tense before him.

This was no lithe poking fun at each other any more. They both knew now; _this _was serious.

He smiled encouragingly at her, and finally Alex moved to stand on the tips of her toes, her lips meeting his with a soft brush; piercing Finbar to the very core of his being with a tender blaze that centered itself in his sacral chakra and singed a path up his spine, sending flames of energy throughout his whole body, bringing a shift deep within that made his instinct cry out in understanding and recognition.

His second hand moved to the small of her back and with the slightest pressure Alex molded into him willingly, her small body aligned against his strong chest.

Watching the scene with the softest of smiles, Blaise gave himself a pat on the head. It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen and he prayed to Salazar Slytherin for the very un-Slytherin-ish feeling of cheesy warmth at the whole situation. With a last eye on the couple, he made to walk towards the dungeons.

But then it went wrong.

It happened so fast his brain didn't even have the time to put it together. Finbar, suddenly froze and color drained from his face.

Alex immediately sensed this and drew back, as if she were afraid she'd done something wrong.

The Gryffindor staggered back, shaking his head in disbelief bordering on panic. What he said next, blew all logic through the proverbial window, and cut both Alex and Blaise in ways unimaginable, though in different ways for either of them:

"This is wrong."

And then he turned, and fled from underneath their eyes.

Alex stood there, unmoving, her green eyes so bright that they glowed even in the well-illuminated Hall.

"-I…" was the first sound she could bring out.

Blaise stood beside her, not knowing what to say, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Clasping her smaller hand in his, he held on tight, as now suddenly came the devastating feeling over Blaise that their descent to Hell had just begun.

**At the Burrow…**

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!" Draco roared, slamming his fist into the table so hard that everything rattled.

Harry had tried to calm him, from the moment he had paled to a ghostly white, to now, when his fury was on its height. If you'd have asked Harry a year ago what kind of person Draco Malfoy was, he'd said that the Slytherin was cold, cruel and devoid of any emotion other than contempt. But as he'd started to learn over these last crazy months, Draco was far from cold and devoid of emotion. Actually, 'Ice Prince' really wasn't a title that completely suited him; because Draco shared an explosive temperament that rivaled Harry's easily. When he was hurt, or worried, afraid, angry, he'd lash out; start screaming, yelling and insulting. And by the equal fieriness that these outbursts displayed, Harry had no doubt that Draco was as capable of feeling as he was.

Draco just chose not to show it. And that he had been successful in this deceit was obvious; just judging by the look on the Weasley's faces. The fact that Draco Malfoy had not only somehow ended up in their lives, but that he was now also reacting as how any of the older Weasley brother would have done when their little sister was hurt, was a clashing confrontation with any of the prejudges they might have had against this young aristocrat.

"WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS?" he screamed again, the waves of pure acerbity rolling of him, wave, by wave, by wave, …

Harry was still holding on to him, cause he knew if he dared to let go now, Draco would do something that was entirely dangerous, such as trying to apparate without even having learned how to, and very possibly getting not only himself, but Harry as well, splinched.

"Please Draco, just calm down. Maybe it wasn't what it looked like…" he tried carefully.

Malfoy whirled at him, glaring so icily that Harry felt his insides start to freeze from the core out.

"Not what it looked like?" he snarled, blonde locks flying about his head at the harsh movements, "The fucking bastard _kissed_ her, kissed her _like he meant it_, and then just said that it was _wrong_."

His normally controlled eyes were burning, almost as if the color in his eyes changed in rapid succession, like watching a storm unfold at the bare sky, and nobody that could do anything to stop it.

"How would you feel, if someone kissed you, making you feel real, and then leave you, standing there, with nothing more than the revelation that you were 'wrong'" Draco's voice was so soft that it made involuntary make the hairs in Harry's neck stand, realizing that the Slytherin was indirectly referring to them, how it would feel for Harry if Draco were to let him fall like that.

"How would you feel, Harry? HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU FEEL?" Draco all but screamed into Harry's face, "IT HURTS!" he hissed through clenched teeth, whilst his nostril flared, "She's in pain." He said again in that dangerously soft tone, "And he did it to her."

He raised his chin defiantly, jutting it out, "And I am going to make him PAY!"

And then it happened, as it had done so twice before, the shock; the white-hot sizzle throughout their bodies, choking their minds and their reason. And again all other saw and felt it happen; all but Draco himself.

At the last word he had slammed both his hands on the table standing in the kitchen, the scream so loud that it felt as if his throat might tear. His slender but nonetheless powerful from was shaking from head to toe, his back turned to them all, and head slumped down. Those fair and usually nimble hands were splayed on top of the table, and the knuckles were jutted out clearly from under the delicate skin, almost as if he sought the wrench the life out of anything he could get close to.

All the objects on the table started to rattle and only Draco's harsh breathing came through. Ron, who was standing on the other side of the table and was therefore able to see part of Malfoy's down-turned face, noticed how his eyelids were pressed shut, venting his anger in magical outbursts into the atmosphere. And when Ron saw Draco baring his teeth, he noticed he was shaking, freezing to the point it hurt, the cold biting.

Draco's breath came out in small puffs, forming little clouds in the air in front of him, and the previously warmly crackling hearth snuffed out as if it had been destroyed with the Killing Curse.

In a halo around his hands, ice crystals began to coat the table's surface, the effect resembling eerily as the impending sign that a Dementor was near.

By now the pitcher with freshly made steaming tea, was frozen as well, the glass now crackling due to nature's merciless laws.

"He's going to PAY!" Draco roared, slamming his fist on the table again, and at that promptly several pitchers and glasses exploded, as did the plumbing at the sink burst, spraying water all over the room.

The contact with the liquid startled Draco out of his devouring rage, and he slipped as he tried to step back. But Harry half caught him, and went down to the floor with him as well.

For a few second everybody just stared in disbelief at the still fountaining sink.

Harry was still sitting on the floor, his lips slightly parted, Draco sitting in between his legs. Strong arms were wrapped around the slender waist, and Harry felt the Slytherin's lungs expand and draw in at a rapid rate.

Then Hermione said softly, "Fire… Darkness and… Water."

Normally their depart for Hogwarts had been scheduled for that evening, after another promising meal of Molly Weasley's excellent cooking, but, as obviously, Draco would not have been stopped even if he had been facing a whole army of manticorns, the students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were packing the few belongings they had brought with them.

All the while Draco Malfoy was as silent as he could be without appearing ungrateful and impolite to the family that had taken him into their midst, though reluctantly, but had done so nonetheless. There was only one thing on his mind, and the scenarios that were playing before his mind's eye were no pretty ones. After making sure that Finbar Ganad would not ever come near his best friend again, he'd seek her out, Alex herself, and demand why she had so forcefully shut him out. And perhaps scream at her for a while, too.

During the silent-treatment, Harry Potter just observed the Slytherin, while hosting an emotional war inside of him. What had happened? Okay, so knew _what_ had happened, but not _why_ it had happened. And even as he felt Alex's constant emotion signature inside of him too, caught her pain, the feeling of insignificancy, the confusion, and yet her longing, Harry also wondered what in Godric's name had possessed Finbar to do what he had done. Because appearances be damned, he just knew it was not what it had seemed. He knew the werewolf enough to realize that something must have been indeed wrong for him to react that way. And Harry also knew that Finbar had not meant to hurt Alex.

Hermione Granger's frown didn't cease one bit as they said their farewells to the Weasley household, her thoughts troubled. By all the commotion the incident with the third magical outburst already had been pushed to the background for later insight. But not for Hermione.

It had begun, and it would continue to do so until it was fulfilled, and God knew what would happen then. What if it would be their down fall to the consummation by powers they could not possibly understand?

Hermione had always been smart; and she had heard about the Elemental Theory of Seven, but had forgotten about it as the Department of Magic Research (answering to the Department of Magical Catastrophes) had declared it nonsense as the few sources they had already stated that the Theory was incomplete, unbalanced. Though, as obvious now, pure elemental magic had not ceased to exist, but now _they_ were in the center of it all. Seven young adults caught up in the untamable Power of the Planet, or simply the Force of Existence. Everything always seemed to happen to them.

So far she had understood that these powers awoke from their passive state by strong, raw, uncontrolled and pure emotions. Both Ron and Draco had been furious while it had happened, while Blaise had had a nightmare where he had been confronted with his failure of being unable to defend his friend.

The Element of Fire was active in Ron, as while Draco carried the Element of Water; though the initiate effect had come out in an eye-widening drop in the temperature, with the result of Ice next. Perhaps suiting that Draco and Ron would be opposing elements.

Blaise Zabini, a young man she hardly knew, had been forcefully imbued with the power of Darkness, or as the old term named it –Caliga. Only, what had exactly happened with 'vision' she did not understand.

And though Hermione knew she should not, she could not help but wonder what her element would be…

As they passed through the doorway, the twins stopped Draco. Both Harry and Hemione held their breaths.

Suddenly George said; "Take care Malfoy."

"Yeah, good luck." Fred nodded; his expression serious.

Draco stared at them, baffled at being unofficially forgiven for all he had done against this family, people he had scorned his whole life. And he registered that they must have seen his reaction to the mistreat of his best friend, thus showing that he _could_ care and that he _had_ changed. Plus adding how he and Harry had interacted. He nodded, with a tight smile, "Thanks."

**In the Main Hall of Hogwarts…**

The company of five –Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Draco and Harry- walked into the Entrance Hall, the immense wooden doors closing shut behind them. A welcoming, soothing scent tickled Harry's nostrils, the kind that told him it was Christmas. The smell of dried orange studded with cloves and sprinkled with cinnamon, the smell of gingerbread and honey. The floor made a loud tap, tap, tap sound with each step they took. The noise echoed off the walls and ceiling, making it seem like some sort of cave, though on the background they could hear pupils laughing, unmindful of all the terror that was virtually looming on the doorsteps, just waiting for that perfect moment to strike and claim.

Harry and Draco walked shoulder to shoulder behind the others, knowing fully that what they were attempting was hazardous and just down-right unreasonable. And yet they were cautiously making their way over to Dumbledore's office on the latter's request, sent to them earlier this morning by owl.

Unfortunately, it seemed that absolutely nothing was meant to go smoothly and without problems and complications of late. Because, right now, with the worst timing ever, appeared Finbar Ganad into the Hall, obviously heading for the direction they had come from, wrapped into warm all-type-weather-proof-robes and his Nimbus 2000 in hand. If he hadn't had his head lowered, long black hair shielding his face, they would have noticed him sooner, but now they almost particularly knocked into them.

Even worse timing.

Only Harry's Seeker dexterity and reflexes, and being the stronger of them two, resulted in him being able to catch Draco as he lunged for the werewolf with a shout.

"YOU BLOODY BASTARD!" the Slytherin howled, using all his weight in attempt to free himself from Harry's grasp.

By now Ron had leapt to his aid, grabbing the back of the Slytherin's robes while trying to still the balled fist swinging hence and forth in attempt to hurt his target. With combined forces Harry and Ron managed to drag him back to his feet and not still in half-dive for the object of his animosity.

Finbar just stood there, his expression blank, eyes unfocussed. He didn't say anything, just watched dispassionately how Malfoy was trying to tear him to pieces.

"I'm going to rip you apart with my bare hands, you piece of shit!" Draco heaved between his efforts of liberating himself.

"C'mon Malfoy," Ron tried, perhaps yanking a little harder on his the collar of Draco's robes than necessary, "'The kill first, ask questions later' is hardly the right approach now…"

"Not until I've transfigured his dick into a toothpick, dammit!" he retorted in a low, sneering voice.

He doubled his efforts with a snarl when he saw that Ganad was still simply standing there, and the lack of response drew Draco Malfoy mad with anger.

"Leave him be Draco…"

That voice alone caused the whole assemble of Slytherin and Gryffindors to turn their heads in unison, dumbstruck. Even Harry and Ron let go of a now limp and shocked Draco, who fell promptly in a heap to the floor with a curse of surprise.

The small form of Alex Ladon descended in a calm pace down the large staircase, hair pulled back in a loose braid and the cloak Blaise had given billowing behind her in a rather Snape-like fashion. She came to a stop next to Finbar, whose face showed a myriad of emotions in rapid succession.

"I'm glad you're back guys…" she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "I'm sure we've got a lot to talk about…" Alex gazed pointedly at Draco and Ron.

Draco, though, was not buying any of it; and with one stride he zoned in on Finbar. But was stopped by Alex's tight grip on his wrist.

"What the HELL do you think you are doing?" he hissed indignantly, uncomprehending why she was standing up for this bastard who had used her and thrown her away.

Alex just watched him, and Draco caught his breath as he looked into a pair of slate-gray eyes. A sight he _used to_ see in the mirror, gazing back at him with numbing cold. It was as if he were looking at a younger version of himself, judging by the eyes alone.

"I'm sure it was just all a…" Alex's head tilted upwards, and she looked blankly at Finbar, "mistake." She finished, though she could not completely ban the bitterness out of her voice.

The Werewolf promptly opened his mouth, as if the words were on the tip of his tongue, choked, swallowed, and closed his mouth again, simply looking back at her.

"See?" Alex said with a half-hearted shrug.

Draco could not believe what he was hearing, was positively fuming, and would have done _something_, anything at all to end this madness. What yet he wasn't sure off, but the firm hold on his upper-arm by Harry was enough to clench his jaw shut. He glared at Finbar, telling him wordlessly that this wasn't over yet, and that he was already brooding on the werewolf's messy demise.

--

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Harry Potter tried to ignore the currently whirlwind of all-out fury throwing things throughout the whole room. After the unfortunate run-in in the Entrance Hall, they had managed to drag Draco away, only after Alex had bargained in her going with them to Dumbledore. The whole bloody time Draco had interrogated her shamelessly, but had only gotten a few shrugs and the occasional 'yes' or 'no's'.

Obviously she thought that it was none of Draco's business, and though he tried not to show it, he was hurt by the lack of trust she seemed to have towards him; thus resulting in the momentary eruption of cropped up emotions and frustrations.

Not only because of Alex, but because of everything that had happened the past week… 

The piercing betrayal of his father, and even attempt at being murdered by him had gone deep. A scar marred his chest to remember him of it. The inevitable loss of his mother, too, and the fear of what would now happen to her… Narcissa had never been the perfect mother; she had been too young to truly understand the needs of a child, especially seeing as she had been wed to man she respected only, but not loved. Yet still, she was close to Draco's heart, the closest he ever had to a loving parent.

That was followed by the phenomenal combining of pure magic to save not only his body, but also his soul. And obviously the mingle of events that had flooded them through doing so. No-one really knew what was going on, and right now there had been no time as of yet to talk about it; because of one simple reason: they were still bound, and there was no resolve to the fact that they still had to spend the nights together. Otherwise they could not even begin to hope to face tomorrow, and all its classes, other students, and all those straining hours spend apart.

And then, linked to that, was the fact that –as opposite of Ron- he harnessed the power of Water. Or maybe not controlled it, but carried its active presence within his soul, printed on his aura like a blinding signature. Or at least that's what they had figured out by now, and though they were missing Blaise and Finbar to confirm it at the time, they had agreed that it must have had to do something with elements. But what exactly nobody knew. And obviously urgency was pressing heavily on their shoulders, because the time would come when they needed to go to Dumbledore.

And that proverbial mountain of stress and repressed pain came out in all its bitterness when Draco and Harry had been left on their own in the room they had been given to share until the bond allowed permanent separating. The Slytherin had barely taken the time to observe his new surroundings and has simply started a tirade of wrath and had been doing so for over twenty minutes, with Harry sitting desolately on the bed.

After what seemed to Harry as more than an hour, Draco slumped to the floor with a hiss of pain, clutching his chest as he bundled up protectively and in an instant Harry was by his side, gathering Draco in his arms.

The blonde withered in the embrace, panting in agony, inhaling air with shrieking gasps.

Drawing him close, panic rising in the pit of Harry's stomach, his hands sought frantically to find a way to touch Draco's bare skin before the latter would pass out under the strain. Finally he made contact with the smooth and soft skin of his partner, feeling the abs sliding under his fingers as he moved his hands upward until he found the roughened, torn skin that made up the huge scar.

Instantly Draco drew in a breath sharply, eyelids pulling open half-way in relief. He allowed Harry to pull him into sitting position in-between the Gryffindor's legs; resting his head on the latter's right shoulder. Draco swallowed and closed his eyes, the strain of the past week's abhorrent events almost too much. And now Harry was holding him like that, and it felt like every barrier he had ever erected around his emotions had disappeared.

"God Draco…" Harry breathed laboriously into the blonde's ear, his voice now also straining under the pain he was partly carrying for Draco.

Just one single tear seeped from under the closed eyelid, nothing more, no change in the pattern of his breathing, nothing. It clung to his pale eyelashes before trailing a path down his cheek. Harry stilled and watched in some sort of half-shock, before hesitantly raising a trembling hand, erasing the tear with the pad of his thumb.

Draco leaned into the hand, his voice almost nonexistent, "It hurts so much…" shoulders softly shaking, he opened his eyes, brimming with unshed emotions, bitten back with pride, "This feeling… it hurts so much… I've never… I've never…"

Harry caressed Draco's skin while his lips pressed light, slow kisses everywhere on his face from the angle he could reach; realizing that Draco was not talking about the pain that was scorning his chest. "Do I have to go…?" He asked softly.

A soft snort came from Draco, "Even if I wanted you to, you couldn't. It would kill us…" A short silence, filled only by their laborious breathing and then, "But no, I don't want you to go."

Harry was not able to repress the smile that flooded his features, and he nuzzled into Draco's neck, the soft locks of hair tickling his nose and cheeks. Hesitating for a moment longer, he murmured reluctantly, not wanting to break this delicate moment "Better now?"

"Yes." The voice whispered, "But could we go to sleep now? I'm exhausted."

That revelation didn't surprise Harry one bit, it had been a rough week on the Malfoy heir, and though he was supposedly spending his days recovering, things hadn't exactly settled down. Especially not after the emotional climax today. The Boy-Who-Lived didn't really answer his companion's question, and just moved to stand up, gently tugging Draco to his feet as well.

Again, they both tried to pass through the terribly grousing task of undressing, which still proved to be quite a confusing debacle to do harmoniously in tandem. But finally, after the usual grumbling, they were standing in nothing put their boxers, and though it was probably still rather early, they crawled under the blankets.

Before Harry extinguished the candles, doing his best to focus the wandless magic, which still was a rather tedious task, Draco had remained as rigid as a board, lying on his back unmoving, eyes pressed shut almost angrily. But then the Gryffindor finally managed stifle the last little fire, and darkness settled over the room. There was an odd, even tense silence, and then Draco suddenly shifted, pressing himself against Harry, their bodies aligning perfectly.

Burying his face into the juncture of Draco's neck, observing that he fit rather well there, Harry nibbled gently on the moon-lit skin, and the other hand made its way over to the Slytherin's back where it weaved a pattern of soothing circles.

Harry had always though that it would be more complicated… this whole 'relationship-thing', whatever it was that they shared. At least as disturbing as it had been with Cho; he had never understood what was going on and when he was supposed to do what to please. With Draco it was somehow easier, he didn't need to think about what was pleasing or offending. His lover was always very clear with his signals and would not be aggravated when Harry didn't get the clue, because then Draco would initiate it himself.

Suddenly he stopped breathing. _Lover_. He had referred to Draco as his lover. Was that what they were? The thought made his fingertips tingle. Did he want them to be…lovers? He looked up at the other apprehensively, his eyesight now adjusted to the darkened state of their surroundings.

It seemed almost as if Draco answered him right then, though he was ignorant to Harry's unspoken question, staring down at him with fathomless gray eyes before brushing two thumbs slowly over Harry's lips, tilting his head with gentle pressure of his hands.

"Harry" he murmured, his slightly hoarse tenor broken, shuddering with the unfamiliar emotion swirling through his body, soul and mind. A thumb slipped between the lips of the young man as he inhaled at the mention of his name, a gesture so intimate for the both of them; both rivals who used to refer to one other by the last name or insults.

Again, there was no doubt in Harry's mind as he touched the tip of his tongue to the intruder, tasting the slightly salted skin. Though, upon realizing what he had done, he blushed, but did not look away.

He swept the moistened extremity over the full bottom lip, watching the expression on Harry's face calculatingly before bending down to kiss him. The whole room seemed to slip away leaving just them suspended in this sweet, simple feeling. Soon, Draco was claiming his mouth in a series of almost desperate kisses, and as they were reacting off of each other, Harry returned them almost timidly, unsure of what to do, mixed with controlled desire.

Draco found it a most delicious combination, and before actually realizing what he was doing, he traced Harry's slightly parted lips with his tongue.

The Gryffindor's head snapped backwards, surprised, his mind shocked into numbness.

Draco blinked, rather dazed, and after finally catching on to what had happened he let out a complaintive sigh. The emerald eyed-boy was still breathing hard, staring up at him, showing unnumerable emotions on his face.

Feeling so very embarrassed and angry at himself; Harry looked away, whispering, "I'm sorry… I've never…and…so…I'm sorry I can't do this right."

Even in the vague sheen of the night, Draco could be seen arching a pale eyebrow, his prominent, handsome features outlined in blue shadows. _Stupid Gryffindork_, Draco thought exasperatedly to himself, and in one motion he twined his long arms around Harry's torso, whilst brushing his lips over the other's.

"Just… just let me…" he murmured thickly, half-incoherent as he was already busying himself with planting deliberate, almost demanding kisses. Pursuing him to relax, Draco didn't give Harry the time to shy away again. When the caresses where returned with equal fervor again, he gave in to the urge pass his tongue over that delightful mouth again. He almost lost his sanity when Harry did not back away this time, but neither made a move to do something in the first instant. Then Harry carefully parted his lips, and gasped as Draco's tongue rose to meet his.

Harry's mind was flooded, never had he deemed it possible that a kiss such as this could be so wonderfully sensitive, so overwhelming and even natural. Soon, he found himself almost frankly struggling to regain the dominance.

When they reluctantly broke apart, Harry's lips were reddened and swollen, not used to be so thoroughly snogged. Draco hummed appreciatively when a moist kiss was pressed to his forehead, the bridge of his nose, the tip of his nose and finally onto his lips, before the raven haired youth shifted himself comfortably.

Nestling the side of his head to Draco's chest, Harry could actually hear the thundering heart, feel it. His own heart took a few leaps when he realized that it was because of him that the normally stoic Slytherin was now completely disheveled, his guard down, feelings open. Casting one look at the other youth, meeting the tired smirk with one of his own, Harry felt content. Just a moment ago a ferocious snake and now gazing back at him with eyes speaking of passion and respect.

At the other side of the castle, Alex Ladon cried in her sleep.

**The Morning of the 1st of January.**

Draco Malfoy found that his hands were trembling uncontrollably when he picked out a set of robes from the wardrobe.

The room he and Harry were sharing had been one of the main reasons as to why Dumbledore had called them into his office. The bond was even close to dissolve and return freedom to the both of them yet. Not by far, for not even a complete week had passed, and the bonding would be strongest for two weeks after it had been formed. So, they were not even halfway.

The choice had easily been made, but acting on it was a whole other thing. Especially remembering how he had been rendered breathless after his emotional tirade. But he did not want to admit this to Harry; he was not ready to confess that he really needed him. Not after only sharing their first kiss a good two weeks ago.

He was a Malfoy, and he would confront this challenge with his head held high. But then again he was Slytherin, and self-preservation almost demanded that he should tie Harry to a chair, and barricade them both in this room until it was over. So, in a word, he was very anxious.

Harry probably knew this, the numerous glances told him enough, but he would not under do for his former rival. He figured Harry had sensed this, and was silently grateful that he didn't speak of it.

Suddenly he became aware of a mental caress, tickling him. He quickly gave in, but did not even try to repress the vexation he still felt towards his friend for shutting him out so severely.

_Drake?__ I'm right outside; I'll walk you to the Great Hall._ Alex paused, getting in his resentment, _If you want…_

She added softly.

_Be right there. _He responded blankly, and then shut her out himself, though he was not as apt in it as she was.

Facing the door, Draco's visage had a grim look to it, as if he were a man facing the impossible. He almost jumped when he felt soft fingers tangling with the hairs in the nape of his neck, and Harry presence moved to stand beside him, looking at him.

"Ready?" asked, doing his best to look assured and confident.

Draco just nodded, longing irrationally to pull him into an embrace. But his pride made that he remained where he was. With a firm movement the door swung open, and they both emerged.

As promised, Alex was waiting outside, leaning casually against the stone wall. Her arctic gray eyes observed him closely, and it struck both young men just how worn out and… bitter she looked.

If Alex had noticed their dumb, gaping stares, she managed to ignore it quite well, "Good morning, ready to face the world today?" she said with a small smile.

Draco just grunted, still piqued.

"You two are just about the most stubborn bloody bastards I've ever met," she sighed, looking at them fondly.

"We'll be fine," Harry said firmly, trying to be brave for both himself and Draco.

Alex just rolled her eyes heavenward, and turned to lead the way to breakfast, the two rivals following behind her quietly. It was rather early, even for a school day, but they had done so consciously, knowing that it would allow a calm passing through the ancient castle without rousing to much suspicion.

By the time they had reached the Great Hall, Ron, Ginny, Blaise and Seamus were already waiting for them.

"Hiya, mate!" Ron beamed at him with a wide grin.

Trying to sound careless, Harry smiled back saying, "Thanks for waiting up."

"S'kay, really," Seamus answered smoothly, keeping his eyes trained on the blonde Slytherin suspiciously. He had been one of the Gryffindors to witness the open display of affection, and though Hermione and Ginny had tried to drill it into him that Harry was not under Imperio, he still couldn't help but give Malfoy the Evil Eye. He agreed to the pact of secrecy only for Harry, because he did not wish for his friend to be in the center off all media attention again. That much he felt he owed him.

Ginny smiled at him, as always radiant and fiery, but turned the expression into a frown as her eyes rested upon Draco, "You alright? You look a little pale…"

"Dominant ferret-genes," Ron said with a grin.

Draco gave him a hard look, before answering, "I'm fine, just a little tired."

Steeling themselves as the first early students already started to gather for breakfast, and their odd group receiving many confused looks, they stepped through the giant archway.

Draco sighed dejectedly, locked eyes one last time with Harry, and then let his expression morph into the usual harsh sneer. He shouldered Harry almost brutally, snarling, "Watch it where you're going, Potter. You Gryffindors always pack up like mindless cattle, not watching where you're going."

"You're the only animal here, Malfoy! Like the groveling little serpent you are…" Harry retorted easily, catching on to the game.

Ron drew up next to Harry, "Shove off Ferret-face, go mingle with your fellow slime-balls over there."

And that was how they parted, Harry to the left, seating himself at the Gryffindor table, and Draco to the right, flanked by Blaise and Alex. Almost immediately the blonde prefect realized just how bad this idea was; all his senses, his instincts, his very core screamed out at the wrongness of leaving Harry's side. Yet he raised his head high; and just sneered a little harder at the world before him as he took seat at the Slytherin table, his back turned towards Harry.

Alex was looking at him with an 'I-told-you' look in her eyes, yet tried to push some of her scarcely regained magical energy down his link to keep his barriers up.

"So, how was your vacation?" Blaise said in a typical drawl trademark for their house, trying to change the topic.

He had barely opened his mouth, when suddenly the syllables got stuck in his throat, not able to believe who had just taken seat next to him. "Nott?"

Theodore Nott was looking positively horrible, his face gaunt and worn. But nonetheless, he smirked at the Slytherin Seeker. "I'm not letting you strike all the honor as the only one defying the Dark Lord with parents as Death Eaters you know." In the thunderstruck silence of their shock he helped himself to some black coffee, "You're not the only one with a backbone." Sipping gingerly at the warm liquid, he closed his eyes with a pleased sigh.

"I-" Draco started, thrown of guard, but then paused and decided to just say what he thought, "I'm honored." And he meant it.

Theodore just nodded at him, his expression serious "I've been disinherited. If I go home they'll kill me…"

Draco got the most peculiar feeling as Nott shifted his eyes ever-so-slightly to his chest. Licking his chapped lips with a wince he added almost conversationally, "Surprising choice of boyfriend, though, don't think anyone saw that one coming…"

Before he could stop himself he blurted, "How did you know?"

Theordore just glanced before nipping at his mug again, "Careful or you're going to blow your cover. Nice diversion; that little pow-wow just a moment ago, though. Anyhow, how did I know you ask? It has been the topic of brooding evil plots all Christmas long, especially after you almost managed to get your scrawny little ass Avada Kedavra-ed to the afterlife if it weren't for _some people_, who shall remain anonymous…" he gave a lop-sided smirk at Alex, Blaise and then looked over his shoulder to the Gryffindor tables. "And then they got really pissed off, and though I had said that I found myself too unworthy as of yet, father wanted me initiated…"

Pausing his explanation, he fondled at the sliver-green scarf covering his neck, exposing some of his neck. An angry mark covered the expanse of his skin, almost identical to Draco's. "Father didn't take well to 'no'… so we had an _argument._" He winced at the memory, "Yes, well, if it hadn't been for the secret port-key Professor Snape has given me, I wouldn't be here today."

"Snape knew about it?" Blaise asked, confused.

"Yes," Nott answered, "I told him my reluctance to pledge my loyalty and life to man who's attempting to murder people whom he calls fifthly, though he is no better. That thing as long ceased to be human…" Then he grinned, even due the seriousness of the conversation, "Besides, I'm a Slytherin, I like to be on the winning side."

All four of them snickered softly, and Draco felt his heart rid some of the stress that had been weighing down on him.

The day passed with uncountable eye-openers, and for the first time in his almost 17-year old life Draco Malfoy found himself truly proud at the House of Salazar Slytherin. Because even at the height of war, many of the elder students had found their ways back to Hogwarts, and indirectly so to the light side. Theodore Nott had been only one of many; Millicent Bullstrode, Greengrass Daphne, Tracey Davis, Adan Rockend, Jax Zayin, Damme Strife, Pansy Parkinson and another dozen others had returned. All together, Alex, Blaise and himself included, they didn't even reached the half of their previous number, but to Draco it was more than he had ever dared to hope for.

But as the day progressed, Draco found his body straining under the force of the life-force bond, and during his afternoon classes breathing became a problem. Though Alex and Blaise always took on the formation of a vague guard, gaining him easy passing through crowds, and as much of the solitude as possible. Yet escaping his house mates was not an option and more than once he found himself shaking hands with one of them, and by the end of the day he had been unofficially dubbed the backbone, leader and perfect example of Slytherin. It didn't take long before his smug satisfaction turned to all-out irritation and a wish of just being to hide away from the constant attention.

If he passed Gryffindors or Hufflepuffs in the hallways they would either regard him suspiciously, some even threateningly, and others would give him a barely perceivable nod of recognition.

Even the occasional Ravenclaw had congratulated him lofty. And during lunch a certain Luna Lovegood –who had been Harry's date for the Ball the remembered vaguely- had felicitated him with his marriage. That had been quite awkward.

And especially as news traveled fast in between the massive stone walls of Hogwarts, it had somehow gotten out that both Nott and he had defied the Dark Lord, though, luckily, nobody knew of the circumstances and both male Slytherins allowed them to conjure the most unlikely story after the other. The last rumor Draco had caught was of Nott defending an orphanage of muggle children, fighting off a small army of Comars.

**January the 1st, Dinner.**

Harry pricked absently into the heap of porridge Ron had so generously loaded his plate with, but he was not even remotely hungry. His head hurt, his chest hurt, his heart hurt, and everything was burning within him.

And not only that; but the constant spotlight his fellow peers seemed to have caught him in hadn't given him not even once the opportunity to withdrew to his dormitory. But that was not what bothered him, no; the fact that his lover was looking ever worse than a warmed-up corpse didn't go down well. All day long his keen Seeker eye had sought out the blonde youth, who was trying his best to keep up all pretenses. But if dinner did not end soon, things would spiral downwards fast, because Draco more than once gripped his chest, pressing his palm against his heart.

Meanwhile he hard tried not to stare too blatantly while also attempting to follow the hushed conversation between Hermione and Finbar:

"…what happened?" Hermione asked softly, trying to look the werewolf into the eye.

"I told you before…" Finbar started to say, clearly running out of patience, but the female Gryffindor cut him off again.

"No, Finbar, I won't accept any of those pitiful lies no more," Hermione said in a lecturing tone, her brown eyes shooting sparks, "The truth, Finbar."

"It is none of your bloody business, Hermione!" the raven haired Gryffindor bit back, almost a bark, "I told you that I never, ever, meant to hurt her and NO I am not going to talk to her. As to why not is entirely MY business, so just give it a bloody rest!"

Hermione wouldn't let herself be pushed away so quickly, and after trying to prompt him all day long into talking with a gently attentiveness, her patience, too had grown thin, "We need to trust each other! You know this!" she shot back reproachfully, "What happened on Christmas Eve…"

"This has nothing to do with Christmas Eve!" Finbar almost shouted as he abruptly rose himself, "Why can't you just bloody leave me be!" And then he strode out of the hall.

The Houses were shocked into silence for a moment, but mostly the Gryffindors all staring wide-eyes at the departure of the usually so laid-back, ever so friendly and patient Finbar Ganad.

"Smooth, Hermione," Ron said with a slightly rebuking look, "Real smooth."

"Oh, just shut up…" Hermione heaved, burying her head in he hands tiredly.

On the other side of the spacious hall, Draco clutched at his chest as his heart started to beat in an irregular pace, and felt his body start to tremble with the exertion. He slumped forward, as the scorning pull on his scar started to increase, almost as if his chest were going to split right there and then.

The height of his agony rose until the ability to breathe left him, and he wanted very much to go and find someplace to collapse. Forcing his body to stand up and cooperate into fleeing the Great Hall was one of the most stupid things he could have done on that particular moment.

It felt as if his ribs shattered under the sheer pressure, and his legs gave out beneath him as he slid down to the floor. The pain clouded Draco's sight an eerie blood red, and he could literally feel his intestines starting to squirm within his torso, and his heart started to fail its rhythm.

He wailed, the sound setting everybody's teeth one edge, "HARRY!" he screamed out as he felt his life-fluids leaking from his mouth, "Haa---"

Before he completely crumbled to the floor, two strong arms locked around his torso, and Harry's own trembling body pressing against him from behind. Draco was staring ahead and breathing hard, with each intake taking as step deeper towards his death, blood by now dripping thickly down his chin. But then finally, Harry managed to literally tear the Slytherin's robes away from his feverish body, splaying his hand across the expanse of the roughened skin marring his chest.

"Stay with me Draco, c'mon!" Harry pleased into dampened blonde hair, and was barely aware of Alex lending a surge of magical energy as he let his own curative magic spill from his body in a radiant halo of white light.

Later, he would ask himself how he was able to manage such a display of strength unconsciously, unlike when he was actually trying to practice it.

But now all that mattered was that Draco suddenly inhaled, relaxing into Harry's arms, his heart beating in a high-pitched, but stabilized pace.

Harry let out a laborious heave of air, shaking like a leaf. Op on opening his eyes, he found that they were surrounded by a circle of fellow peers, most of them shocked beyond coherent reason, Blaise, Nott and Ron trying to press back the tide of student body, Alex slumped down on the floor, looking positively worse than before, and Dumbledore and Snape, pushing their way through the crowd.

But he didn't really care, almost as if he were detached of anything didn't involve Draco in any other was to aid him. "Draco…" he whispered crookedly, "Please…Draco… open your eyes… please…"

Harry thought he could have cried when Draco did so, a pair of highly disorientated stormy eyes finding his own. He wasn't aware that he really was crying at all.

* * *

**SO, it's ****_finally_** here. I'll let you guys know that I've had it finished for almost 2 weeks now, but it got delayed that long cause I was waiting for my betas to purify it of all evil typos… which still hasn't been done. And I figured I've kept you guys on the edge way too long…Thus:THIS CHAPTER HAS NOT BEEN BETA-READ! 

**So I have absolutely no idea AT ALL whether this chapter _is even remotely good_… I do hope it is, so you guys totally have to _review your brains out_ so I'll know you like the way it's going alright? If not, tell me and I WILL try to fix it! Kay?**


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